Genuine Beauty
by Ailee89
Summary: Ally has lived her whole life categorizing everyone she has ever encountered into either being beautiful or hideous-but with an exceptional twist; she doesn't judge on appearance, but instead by what each individual holds within. That is why despite his rough hair, harsh eyes, intimidating look, and faded scars, Austin is the most beautiful thing Ally has ever laid her eyes on. A&A
1. Beauteous

**Genuine Beauty**

**Austin & Ally**

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><p>( <em>Plot: This takes place in modern day America but with a twist in humanity, the technology resources are all the same. The social inequalities are more than present, and slave trade continues._)

_(This story manipulates the rights and social classes of human beings in a rather cruel manner, and identifies the cruelty within each and every individual.)_

_Ally:_

A small smile graced itself upon her face as she stared at the swaying tree branches through the foggy car window. The slight yet cold breeze blew the white blossom petals away from their mother branches as they took their first steps to an unknown destination.

The tall stems of the grass waved to her as they drove past them, and Ally would have waved back if she didn't want to be ridiculed by the all-too-seious passengers in the cars behind them. The world truly had so much to offer.

_The world was a beautiful place._

The car then took a sharp turn, and her brief smile quickly disappeared as the sights of nature vanished to be replaced by a series of large grey buildings. _  
><em>

_It was the people living on it that were ugly._

She tore her eyes away from the window to instead stare at her soft hands that were resting on her lap. Ally didn't want to see what the world had to offer any longer, because _those_ things, were anything _but_ beautiful.

"Are you excited?"

She lifted her gaze to transfix on her father who sat across from her.

"Are you excited?" He repeated, assuming she hadn't caught his earlier words.

_Not at all_. " Very." Ally softly answered. Her father seemed content with his daughters short response, and turned his happy gaze out the window.

Unlike Ally, he appreciated the sights he saw; after 40 years of living, he had already became immune to the indecencies life had to offer.

Ally's lips twitched downwards as she stared at him with disappointment, he always treated her with great care, and generosity, and she loved him very much for it. She just wished he would treat everybody the same way he treated his precious daughter.

It's a wish she knew that would never be granted.

Her father looked to be at a relatively young age, but the grey in his hair, and wrinkles on his face that had intensified due to stress, indicated age. He was a successful business owner, and with success comes countless worries and problems.

Despite the aged features of his face, he could still be considered as attractive, but in Ally's eyes he was ugly, because of his view on the world.

Today was Ally's 17th birthday, and as a reward for being the best daughter anybody could ever wish for, her dad thought she was finally old enough to follow the customs of the upper class.

Ally was finally mature enough to earn something she dreaded the most, a noye- a slave.

" We'll be arriving soon, and you can finally get to pick one out." Her dad spoke again. He smiled fondly at his beautiful daughter. " You can bring him to school, and brag to all your friends, since they probably won't get one for another couple of years."

She nodded, as his smile broadened. Ally wasn't one to speak much, and it was one of her qualities her father loved so much. Ally was generally perfect. She was polite, quiet, respected her elders, a highly intellectual student-the dream child any parent would want.

It was customary for children to receive a noye from their parents on their 21st birthday, as a gift, for their maturity, but Ally's father decided that it wouldn't hurt to give Ally hers a few years earlier.

After all, she deserved it.

The car came to a stop, and so did her heart. She hadn't prepared herself for the horrifying sights she would soon see. Her father, on the other hand, laughed merrily as the car door opened for them to step out.

" Come now, Ally."

With her fist clenched tightly at her sides, Ally slowly stepped out of the car behind her father. Before she could even get a glimpse of the ugly people around her, she quickly trained her gaze on the floor.

"Ah, you've arrived! We've been waiting for you all day long. This is the birthday girl I presume? She's beautiful!"

Ally took a quick look at the person who had praised her before averting her gaze. Hideous.

"Thankyou sir." Ally's father laughed as he merrily shook the younger mans hand. "Let's give this birthday girl, her present, as soon as possible. Please escort us to the hallways." Her dad said.

Ally cringed at the word. The hallways. Ally had never gone through the hallways herself, but she knew what was done there. It was there the noyes would be lined up and chosen, each attempting to be on their best behavior, due to the fear of not receiving dinner if they weren't.

" Come Ally." Her father called out, he then followed his words with a light scold, " Don't just stare down at your feet, you must be polite and greet others."

Ally hid her small fist behind her back, smiled and nodded up at him. The group of three then arrived in front of a set of grand, wooden doors, and Ally quickly took a deep breath.

"Here we are! Choose carefully Ally." The young man said to Ally with a smile, while pushing a bright red button to open the doors. It was horrible.

It was horrible to see all those faces staring back at her, they weren't ugly faces, not at all, but they weren't beautiful either. Ally suspected that once upon a time, each one of those faces radiated valiant beauty, but after being tainted by the ugly aspects of humankind, they lost their shine.

They were blank canvases with tinged of hope and anguish painted across their features.

Ally stood frozen in front of all the noyes, and her chest constricted with pain once she got a glimpse of how long the hallways was. Her fist flew to her chest as a way to put up with the pain, and blinked a couple times to get rid of the tears that stung her eyes.

_I wish I could take all of you and set you free, I'm so sorry._

Ally hadn't gotten any further when she heard the sound of a slap, which caused her to jerk her head up. She stared at the scene to see a worker of the noye house, with silky brown hair on his head, who had a tall slim figure.

To many he would be considered perfectly attractive, but to Ally he was hideous.

"Dallas!" The man who had accompanied us barked angrily, after having two valuable guest witness such as sight.

Dallas turned back with fury, and said, "Father." with a smile. Ally scoffed. Of course, like father like son.

" Didn't I tell you, we were having important guest today?" His dad asked angrily, and the young boy looked over at Ally. She quickly became uncomfortable with his gaze, and shifted her eyes to look at the noye he had just slapped.

He had a thin face, with cold hazel eyes. A large red imprint was on the side of his face, and Ally wanted nothing more than to tattoo the same shape on Dallas's face.

" I'm sorry dad. Austin was mouthing words, and I had to teach him not to do that, otherwise his younger friend here would learn also." Dallas said sounding unapologetic.

Ally looked over towards the younger boy by Austin, a bit shorter than him, with soft eyes.

" I'm sorry, you had to witness this." Dallas's father said to Ally's dad, " No, it's fine. Carry on. Noyes need to learn their place anyways." He responded.

Dallas then smiled, and raised his hand towards Austins face till Ally rushed in, and held Dallas's hand back from hitting Austin. " Please stop. I-I have chosen my noye." Ally's soft voice said.

Austin looked at the girl in utter confusion, had she really just done that?

An awkward tension quickly captured the room, and many looked at Ally in admiration and confusion.

Ally's dad cleared his throat, "That's great, who have you chosen?" He asked, as she retracted her hand from Dallas's wrist, before placing her hands behind her back. There was a moments pause before she then replayed.

" Austin." She answered clearly. " Are you sure?" Dallas's father asked with concern. No one ever chose him due to his harsh tone, and rude actions.

"Perhaps you should continue to look around." Ally's dad said, nudging her to go further down the aisle.

" No. I have made up my mind." Ally responded firmly, while staring over at Austin, who furrowed his eyebrows, and was about to say something, but decided against it, in worry his young friend would be hurt.

"Why me?" Austin asked blankly, attempting to subdue the pain pulsing through his veins.

" Because." Ally began simply, " You're still beautiful." she said . A blanket of silence engulfed the room, and all eyes were trained on the small, ombré haired girl who had just claimed the blonde as her own.

_Beautiful?_

Austin could have laughed. How was he beautiful? He, with his rough hair, harsh eyes, and calloused hands?

" You're making a bad decision. You'll regret it." Dallas said to Ally, " If so then I shall wallow in my regret, and self pity at another time." She answered. He let out a small growl, before then walking out of the hallways angrily.

" Okay...then. Well if you'd come with me sir, we need to sign the paper work." Dallas's father said unsurely. He looked over at his daughter with her chosen noye, and sent her a small smile, before leaving her alone with him.

" Why did you stop him from hitting me, why did you pick me?" Austin growled while narrowing his eyes at her, " I don't need your pity."

" You have a bad temper." Ally responded simply, while scanning him with her intelligent eyes. " Your very easy to anger, aren't you?" She asked when Austin was about to open his mouth to retort angrily.

"But I can tell you care greatly for those you love that's what makes you beautiful."

"Stop calling me that." he spat out while glaring at her coldly, " I'm not beautiful, what part of this face makes you think I'm beautiful?" he yelled, causing her to become silent.

After a moments pause of pure silence, he was about to send Ally a victorious smirk, that is until she spoke again.

" I'm not sure. Maybe it's all those small scars that litter your face, the scars that represent how many times you've taken the beatings for your friend, or maybe it's the way your bones protrude out of your shirt from all the times you skipped meals so others would have enough to eat." Ally said.

" It's also probably the dark circles under your eyes that symbolize the sleepless nights you've endured to watch over your younger friend." She finished softly.

He was left speechless soon after hearing words, and felt utterly vulnerable underneath the intense gaze of a stranger.

"I can see you don't trust me, but it's alright. I don't expect your trust so easily, or for you to give it to me so quickly." Ally said while rummaging through her bag. She pulled out a small tin canister and handed it to him.

"It's ointment, put it on your scars, and your friends too." She said. Ally's father soon then called her out from another room to leave, she sighed and looked back over at Austin.

" One month." Ally said, Austin furrowed his eyebrows, " For what?" He asked, " One month for you to trust me." She repeated. He narrowed his eyes at her and scoffed at her confidence.

" What makes you so sure?" He asked. Ally smiled, "I think you're capable of looking at people and seeing their true intentions, like me." She said.

Austin was at a lost of words again.

" I have to go now, but I will return tomorrow." Ally then said while looking up at his cold hazel eyes.

"Thankyou." Ally said as he stared at her intently, looking at her eyes that expressed so much emotion, and words he would never understand.

" For what?" Austin asked, after a moment of silence.

" For allowing me to see the beauty in people again." Ally answered...

**_Thank you for reading my new story, Genuine Beauty, the title may change, if you have any ideas please tell me. This story was inspired by a little known book titled, 'True Beauty'._**

**_If you guys don't like it I'll most likely delete the story, some of the plot is hard to grasp, but if you guys like it, and if I get a good amount of reviews I'll continue with it. Thank you_**


	2. Angelic

_**Genuine Beauty**_

_A&A_

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><p><em><span><strong>Angelic<strong>: Characteristic of one who manifests goodness, purity, and selflessness._

"Are you happy with the noye you've chosen, Ally? It's not too late to change your mind, you know. The head director told me that the one you've chosen isn't really the best noye he has to offer." Ally's father said to her as they entered in the vehicle.

" That tall one, Austin is very rash and violent." He informed his daughter as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

" I am sure of my decision." Ally responded curtly as she turned her gaze out the window.

"Yes,you have always been talented in picking out people of substantial worth." He smiled, as he gazed proudly at his daughter. " You spoke quite a lot today. I don't believe I've ever heard you say so many words at once, so you must have been sure of your decision. You said you would be coming here everyday, then?"

Ally nodded her head in response, and he smiled in satisfaction. "You should spend some more time with the head directors kid too, according to him Dallas has a lot of girls after him."

Ally nodded her head once more, but offered no words expressing her opinion. Nevertheless, her father was content with his daughters action, and let the car ride continue in silence.

True to Ally's word, she returned to the Noye house the next day. The receptionist of the building informed her that Austin, and his younger friend were most likely residing in their cells.

Ally cringed at the word. Cells. She was even more disturbed at the way the woman said it, as if nothing were out of the ordinary; as if the people living in those cells were animals instead of humans.

She was told the customers weren't allowed to enter in the cells, but because her father was held at such high prestige, they would allow her entrance. Ally hated using her family's reputation as a way of getting what she wanted, but she had to admit, that it was useful at certain times.

The cells were just as horrible as she had imagined.

As her eyes scanned the living quarters, she was now hesitant on wether "cells" was even the right word to describe the living conditions of the noyes. The underground room represented a death chamber, and the "rooms" were seperated simply by iron bars that ran vertically from the ceiling to the ground.

Each "room" possessed a sink, a small table, and 4 lumpy blankets spread across dirt grounds. Even a jail was more luxurious than this.

There was almost a pungent stench in the air, but that too had been expected. The Noyes were rarely given any food, let alone the chance to bathe on a daily basis.

"You're looking for Austin, aren't you?" a sudden deep voice called out. " You're the girl from the hallways, yesterday."

Ally turned to her right, and met eyes with a rather babyish looking male. His face was smudged with dirt, but one could still see the beauty and innocence radiating from him. She stared at him for a few seconds, as if contemplating on wether or not the voice had actually came from him.

Deciding that she must of found the wrong owner, Ally continued her gaze to look for the source of the voice.

" Hey, don't just skim over me." the baby face boy whined, as he crossed his arms with irritation. Ally stared at the other with amusement, how did such a childish face posses a voice as deep as that?

"I know you're making fun of me." The boy blushed as he kicked the heel of his foot into the ground. " Even if you don't say anything, I know my voice sounds ridiculous."

"No." Ally stated slowly as she cocked her head, " I think I like it, it's a nice contrast, charming."

The boy looked momentarily taken back, until he cleared his throat, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. " If you're looking for Austin, he's not here, and it's gonna be a while until he returns."

" Where has he gone?" Ally asked as she approached the tall boy.

" I think he's on kitchen duty today, hey, Sean! Is Austin on kitchen duty today?" he turned his head to call out to the boy sleeping behind him.

" Yeah." Sean's vioce croaked back in return.

Ally's eyebrows immediately furrowed at the sound of the others vioce, and all concerned thoughts of Austin disappeared. " He's sick, isn't he?"

The boys face fell as he stared at his companion with a saddened expression. " Yeah, he has been for a while now, but the guards keep stealing Sean's medicine to sell, so he's just stopped requesting it."

Ally rushed through the open cell door, and quickly went to Sean's side. She laid her hand against the others burning hot forehead, and frowned at the intense heat that radiated against her skin.

" Who...who are you?" Sean asked weakly, as he tried to open his eyes at the foreign presence.

" My name is Ally Dawson." She responded as she slipped her pack from her back to rummage through it. " And you should know not to go this long without medicine, Sean."

" W-What's the point...of a-asking for it...if the guards are o-only going to steal it?" Sean's chuckle quickly escalted into a cough.

Ally uncapped a bottle of water, and pressed it gently against Sean's cracked lips. " Drink."

Obediently, Sean greedily gulped the water, as if he hadn't had any liquid to drink in a long time, and Ally suspected he hadn't.

" What have the guards been giving him in return?" she turned to ask the taller boy as he stood silently by Sean's side.

A dark expression took over his face, and he bitterly replayed with, " Nothing. They haven't been giving him anything, because they say he's going to die soon, so there's no point in wasting resources on him anyways. I've been sharing my meals, and water with him, but it's not enough."

Ally's eyes softened at the sight of the angry other, and she asked him, " What's your name?"

"Elliot." He answered.

" You're a beautiful person, Elliot." Ally said as a gentle smiled touched her lips.

Surprise filled Elliot's eyes, and he fell silent under Ally's words, not knowing exactly what to say in return.

" You won't die Sean." Ally stated softly, as she gently pulled the boy up into a sitting position. She pressed her palm against his back for support, and motioned for Elliot to help her. " Prop him up, please."

Elliot came over quickly to do her bidding, and held Sean with a hand on each of his shoulders.

Ally pulled out a silver canister out of her bag along with a plastic spoon, and slowly spun the top of the canister off. A delicious scent wafted through the room, and Elliot had to swallow his saliva to hold in his hunger.

" Open your lips, Sean." Ally said as she carefully slipped a small spoonful of warm porridge through his lips. Ally continued to spoon feed him until the canister was half empty. She then closed the container despite Sean's whines for more.

"You haven't eaten much for a long time, and if you suddenly consume this much, you'll throw up." Ally explained as she set the canister aside. " You wouldn't want to waste all of that food, would you?"

Horrified at the idea, Sean immediately shook his head. A tinge of red managed to flow back into Sean's cheeks to make him appear more life like, but he still remained a sickly color.

Ally then pulled out a small bottle of red fluid, and poured a bit of it onto the spoon, before holding it against Seans lips. "Swallow."

"What is that?" Sean frowned, scrunching his nose against the sour smelling liquid. " Medicine. If you want to get better, you will ignore the taste." Ally instructed. Sean immediately swallowed the substance, and Ally smiled.

She pulled a small candy out of her pocket, and unwrapped it, before slipping it into his mouth. " This will help get rid of the bitter taste."

Ally unwrapped the silver container of porridge, and medicine before slipping it under Sean's blanket, and out of sight.

" Feed him the rest of the porridge at dinner time, with another spoonful of medicine. I know it looks delicious, Elliot, but you mustn't eat the porridge. I'll bring you something delicious tomorrow, but until then you can eat these." Ally instructed the other, before pulling out several candies from her pocket.

She slipped the caramel candies into Elliot's hands, " Give one to Sean, after he has had his medicine." Ally said, as he nodded, before slipping them under his own blanket.

" You should go get some rest now, Sean." Ally smiled, " You'll feel better tomorrow."

" Thank you." He managed to whisper before sleep consumed him. Ally then looked down at her watch, to see it was time to leave. She climbed to her feet, and notified Elliot of her departure.

" You aren't going to wait for Austin?" He asked, Ally shook her head, " I can always see him tomorrow." She responded gently with an aplogetic smile.

Elliot nodded, and sent her a grateful smile, "Thank you." He said, " I don't know what I would have done if Sean died."

" Your Welcome." Ally told him, " You have a very bright smile that makes many happy, I hope it never dims." With those as her final words, Ally delicately raised her hand to send him a wave of goodbyes, before disappearing down the stairs.

* * *

><p>Austin, and his younger friend, Ayden immediately noticed the brightened atmosphere of the cells when they returned, and Austin looked around with a raised brow. " What happened here?"<p>

" An angel came to visit." Elliot answered with a dreamy expression in his face. " What angel?" Austin asked while narrowing his eyes.

" An angel that healed Sean of his sickness." Elliot answered as he gestured over towards the sleeping male.

Austin had to admit, Sean did appear to be a bit more healthier, with the colorless that was possessed in his cheeks. "Such an angel exists?"

Elliot nodded, and pressed his hand against Sean's forehead to feel his friends decreasing temperature, " She goes by the name of Ally, Ally Dawson."

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><p>" Has the angel come back yet?" Sean asked as he wearily propped himself up on his elbows. " Not yet." Elliot answered, while helping him sit up properly.<p>

" She said she'd come back today, so don't worry, it's still morning time."

Austin stared at the two in amusement. The two others that he and Ayden shared their cell with had been waiting for the arrival of his 'master' all morning. How could they have been infatuated with a girl they had barely known for an hour?

He wasn't at all impressed, however, his two inmates trusted others much too easily. Despite these thoughts, Austin found his head shoot up, once the sound of light footsteps echoed through the cells.

" Ally!" Elliot greeted cheerfully as he ran to meet the small girl at the door, " You've come."

" I said I would come, didn't I?" Ally responded with amusement, she glanced around the cell, and smiled over at Austin to acknowledge his presence, and Ayden averted his gaze from her so she wouldn't do the same.

" Are you feeling better, Sean?" Ally asked while pressing her hand against his forehead. A sudden surge of jealousy erupted in Austins chest, and was surprised at the sudden emotion.

He immediately scolded himself for his thoughts, however; he refused to fall into the vixens trap so early in the game.

" Your fever has gone down, Elliot must have taken good care of you last night." Ally smiled, as Austin stared at them bitterly.

" As a reward for taking care of him so well I brought you this." Ally said while handing Elliot a container of freshly made food. " There's enough for both of you, so please share with Sean." She said, before fixating her gaze over towards Austin and Ayden.

" Here." Ally said while setting a similar container of food on Austins lap, " You two can share this one."

Austin felt the heat radiate through the plastic on his lap, and was about to respond with shameful thanks, but was interrupted by a loud clang. His eyes widened in surprise, when he saw that the container that once was on his lap, was now on the ground.

The contents were scattered across the ground, ruined by dirt and dust. Austin turned to look at Ayden with wide eyes, shocked at what he had just done.

" Ayden? Why did you do that?"

Ayden simply crossed his arms, and glared at Ally, almost daring her to do something about it. He expected her to throw away her fake facade of kindness, and rage at him for ruining her hard work, but to his surprise, an amused expression slid up on the girls face.

" Good thinking, you'd never know if there was poison in there or not." Ally said while scooping back the food in the container. " You're very clever to be cautious."

Ally now noticed the number of old scars that were scattered across Aydens entire body, from his face, to the tips of his hands, as he stared at her in confusion.

She was rather disappointed that Ayden had just wasted an entire meal, but held her toungue, who expected him to trust her so easily? With the number of scars against his body, he reserved the right to be cautious of her.

" Although, I assure you that I haven't slipped anything dangerous in there for you, and Austin." Ally continued while wiping her hands off with a napkin. " I shall bring you more food tomorrow, and I hope youll trust me on it, I'll even eat some in front of you so you'll know I didn't out anything bad in it."

All were at a lost for words.

" I thought I'd find you here."

Everybody in the cell froze at the sound of the familiar vioce. " Why would you even be looking for me in the first place?" Ally asked while turning to look over at Dallas.

" My father wants me to court you." He answered with a smirk, while leaning against the cell bars, and ran his fingers through his hair, in which he thought was a "cool" manner.

" He thinks you fancy me, isn't that amusing?" He asked.

" It would be if it were true, unfortunately however, such a feeling doesn't exist in my heart for you when it's filled up with loath and disgust." Ally stated, before turning back around to Austin and the rest.

" Don't turn your back on me." Dallas hissed as he wrapped Ally's upper arm to jerk her towards him. " I don't think my father would appreciate it if I told him how you were treating his precious daughter. Please restrain yourself." Ally said calmly.

" You're a little bitch, aren't you?" Dallas growled as he relunctaly released her arm. " I don't understand why you would assume that, now if you are done, I request you to leave." Ally said with a hard expression on her face.

" Excuse me? You really must be stupid, look at me when I speak!" Dallas raged as his hand flew forward, his motion was stilled from the grip Austin held on his wrist, and he turned his angry gaze to the other.

" What the hell do you think you're doing?" Dallas growled while tearing himself away from Austins grip.

Austin didn't know how to answer, because his defense had surprised even himself. He was too preoccupied with his thoughts to notice how Dallas pulled his arm back to attack him.

" If you touch a single hair on his body I will not hesitate to sue." Ally said firmly, while glaring at him strongly, " According to the contract, Austin is registered under my family name, and attacking him would mean you are attacking a member of the Dawson family. You will suffer severe consequences, as a result, and will most likely cause your father to loose this place, do you accept the punishments?"

Dallas's fist froze in the air, and Ally mentally smirked victoriously, " I assume you do not so please lower your hand."

" You'll regret this." Dallas hissed with a dark glint in his eyes, as he lowered his fist, and walked out angrily.

Ally shook her head, and sighed, while looking at the boys who all looked up at her in surprise, and realized that in her 17 years of living. She had never been this happy before, while noticing the stench in the air could no longer be detected...

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><p><span><em><strong>Hey there. Thank you for the wonderful response to this story. Hopefully, you enjoyed this chapter.<strong>_

_**I have a special mission for you all, I would like for you all to do a random act of kindness like Ally. It can be small or big, but whatever it is you will or have done please tell me in your review. Doing this will cause you to also have be Angelic.**_

_**Also, after this story ends. I will have one last story to write, which will be the last fanfiction I will write. It will be a very special one. I realized that many are leaving this website, and I will soon be one of them.**_

_**After, this and my two other story ends I only have one more fanfic to write before I leave this website, so I hope you'll be prepared for that.**_

_**Thankyou for your time.**_

_**(ALSO:)**_

_**If you know how to make a video trailer please PM me, I would love to have one for my last fanfic. Thanks!**_


	3. Anamnesis

**_Genuine Beauty_**

**_A&A_**

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><p><strong><em><span>Anamnesis- The power of retaining and recalling past experiences<span>_**

" Let's play a game." Sean suggested rather suddenly. Cocked heads turned to stare at Sean with curiosity and interest.  
><span>

" What kind of game?" asked one of the other noyes named, Axel, who stretched his long legs against his mates lap, Grant in an attempt to bother him. After being introduced to the 'angel', the two noyes found themselves spending more time in Austin's cell than they did their own.

" I don't know." Sean responded with a shrug. All interest were then lost, and everyone returned to their own little activities. Sean pouted at the sudden loss of attention, and he quickly pulled Ally to his side, jerking her away from her tutoring with Grant.

Grant had requested that Ally aid him in his speech the second she had walked into the cages that morning.

No longer did he want to speak with that horrible stutter, even if Ally had referred to it as cute. Grant pouted when his teacher was pulled away from him, but made no effort to protest. Instead, he smacked Axel's legs away from his lap to relieve his annoyance.

" Give us a game to play, Ally." Sean ordered as he stared at the girl with gleaming eyes. Ally cocked her head and slipped her arm out of Sean's grip, " What game?"

" That's what I'm asking you! You've been out in the real world for your entire life, you should at least know one what's kind of games there are, right? Tell us, I want to be up to date with the things outside of these walls." Sean stated in excitement.

Despite the eager tone, that was used to say his words, Ally couldn't help but feel sympathy for the others. When would they be able to see the real world, without the constraints of being a noye?

She knew the answer to her own question the second it last through her head. They never would.

" I..." Ally began to say uneasily as she glanced at the eager faces staring back at her. " I don't know any games. I never played any."

Seans face immediately fell at Ally's confession. " But...but!"

" Aha! There is one game I know, I use to play it with my younger cousins." Ally stated quickly, not being able to beat the look of disappointment on Seans face.

Seans face resumed its previous shine," Tell us about it!"

" It's...it's not a game that everybody can play." Ally explained slowly. " But you guys can play it because you have me."

Elliot cocked his head at the girls vague explanation, " What do you mean?"

Ally gave him a small smile, before she climbed to her feet. She patted the dust off her skirt and walked to the front of the room.

Her eyes traveled from corner to corner of the cage for ten seconds before she turned on her heels.

" I want you to change any aspect of the room."

" What?" Elliot questioned Ally's back, not understanding the point of the game. " Why?"

" Just do as I say." Ally responded curtly. " Change something. Anything you'd like."

Elliot scratched the back of his neck, and picked up a bottle of water that had been tucked under the table Ally's earlier visit, and moved it to another corner of the room.

" I've done it." Elliot announced as he sat back down next to Sean. Ally then turned around, and her eyes scanned the room to look for a difference.

" You've moved the water bottle."

" That's what you call a game?" Austin stared without amusement. " That wasn't even impressive."

A knowing smile slipped onto Ally's face. " You didn't let me continue, Austin. Sean is now leaning on his left arm when he had been leaning on his right. Grant's pencil is now 3 inches away from where it previously was, my assumption is that Elliot accidentally kicked it with his foot when he got up."

" I'm also guessing that Ayden noticed the smudge of dirt that was on his hand because he's wiped it away, and Axel, the bug that had been next to Elliot's hand earlier is now crawling up your leg."

Jaws dropped in amazement- Axels coming a little late seeing as how he had first jerked to get rid of the bug.

" H-H-How d-du-did y-you d-do th-tha-that?" Grant asked in amazement.

" I have a photographic memory." Ally replied as she sat back down in her spot next to Grant.

Austin stared at the girl in amazement. How did she manage to acquire so many talents? How could she possess flawless looks, a charming personality, and an intelligence to match?

Austin was in complete awe in how the girl could contain so many abilities in such a petite body frame. Austin immediately snapped out of his thoughts and scowled in realization.

What was he thinking? This girl wasn't perfect- from it, and he was foolish to almost fall into her trap once again.

" Do it again!" Sean cheered happily as he clapped his hands together like a child " I'm going to make the changes harder for you this time."

Ally let out a small smile at the boy's eagerness, and climbed back to her feet to satisfy his cheers. Her talented memory was one of the best qualities she saw within herself, and was glad to put it to use for others.

Her eye for beautiful people was a side effect for her impeccable memory. After the large numbers of people Ally had been exposed to during her life time, she knew quite a lot about human kind.

Ally was capable of labeling every lip bite, every eyebrow raise, every nose twitch, every facial movement or expression that could ever cross ones face with a different emotion or thought, and it was all due to her photographic memory.

People, she had realized much long ago, were more similar then they would expect.

Their game was interrupted, however, when a noye came to announce that Austin, Elliot, Sean, Axel, and Grant would have to go pick up the weeks supply of meals from the vans out front.

Elliot pouted, but quickly climbed to his feet. " We're going to keep playing once we get back, okay Ally?"

Ally's nod was enough to satisfy Elliot, and he quickly made his way out of the cage with the others behind him.

Austin was uneasy with the idea of leaving his younger friend, Ayden with no other companion except for Ally. Although he did admit he liked the girl the tiniest bit, he still wasn't so absolute in trusting her for his fragile friend.

Nevertheless, if there was anybody he was to leave Ayden with, she would immediately be his first choice.

" I'll be back soon." Austin said to Ayden as he climbed to his feet. He uncurled Aydens fingers that had attached themselves to the sleeve of his shirt, and gave him a smile of reassurance before following the others.

" The two of you care about each other quite a lot. I admire your relationship greatly." Ally stated ruefully as she stared at where Austin had disappeared to.

" To have a mutual relationship of care must be one of the best things in the world. I'm envious."

Ally was satisfied when she saw the corners of Aydens lips twitch upwards in the slightest motion. She opened her mouth to ask a question, but quickly closed I once again.

There was only one question in Ally's head that she wanted to know the answer to, but she knew that it wouldn't even be the slightest bit appropriate to voice her thoughts when she hardly knew him.

Ally definitely wasn't classified as nosey, but her interest in Ayden was just so intriguing that she couldn't help but let the question corrupt her thoughts.

With a small sigh, she forced the thought from her head to think of another conversation she could engage in with Ayden.

She would find out why Ayden was mute another day.

" Ah!" Ally stated as she suddenly dug through her bag. " I have something I wanted to give you."

Aydens eyebrows rose at her words, and he crept forward the slightest inch to find out what it was that Ally wanted to give him.

She pulled out a pair of mittens and shyly gave them to him. When he stared down blank faced at the wooly cloths, she explained herself with embarrassment.

" I noticed that your hands shake often when it is chilly here. I hope you'll use them, Ayden."

It was the smallest token of a gift, really, but Ayden was completely appreciative for it. He didn't like the girl at all when he first saw her, but she was slowly growing on him, and this new gift managed to melt his ice wall just the tiniest bit.

Much to Ally's satisfaction, he slipped his hands into the wool and instant warmth spread through his hands. He raised his now clothed hands up to his eyes and stared at the badly stitched ' Ayden' that was sewn on.

" I...I'm not the best at sewing." Ally admitted quietly when she caught Aydens line of sight.

He found it utterly ridiculous that a petite, delicate looking girl like her couldn't even sew. He now noticed the small bandages that were wrapped around Ally's finger tips, and almost laughed.

The corner of his lips perked upwards as he imagined the girl constantly pricking herself in the efforts to spell out his name.

Ayden wanted to express his thanks so he slipped the mittens off and used his finger to trace out " Thank You" against the dirt of the ground.

A bit too eager to see what he had written for her in return, Ally scrambled to her feet. Her sudden motion caused her leg to trip over the other, and she fell forward before she could stop herself.

Luckily, there was a rather soft body to break her fall, but Ally's eyes immediately flew open in realization.

" I'm so sorry Ayden! It's my fault! I'm so clum-"

The rest of her words caught itself in her throat as she stared at the engraving and scars that decorated his skin. She had acknowledged the marks before hand, but never until now had she been able to get a good look at the dark fragments of his skin.

Were those bite marks?

Her eyes traveled down the boys scarred skin. They certainly were.

Ayden registered the look in Ally's eyes, and followed her line of sight to a particularly large bruise that he was sporting on his upper arm- a bruise in the shape of a hand print.

Bewildered, Aydens hand shot up, and he pushed Ally away from him with all his strength. Once she flew backwards, he quickly scuttled to the corner of the room.

Ally winced in pain, but she was in even more pain when she got a glance at the pure look of horror that stretched itself across his face.

Instant guilt flew to her heart as she stared at his face. How rude and insensitive of her to have stared at his scars. She should have known better.

Feeling immensely apologetic, she opened her mouth to call out his name, but was interrupted by the angry shout that came from Austin.

" Ayden!" Austin exclaimed as he came running into the cell. He skidded to a halt in front of him, and dropped to his knees to pull the sobbing boy towards him. His head turned to stare at Ally,and she felt a jolt of pain run through her body at the strong look of contempt and hatred Austin glared at her with.

" What did you do to him?" Austin barked angrily. Ally opened her mouth but no words came out. She hadn't meant to harm him on purpose, and was incredibly apologetic towards them mental anguish she must have caused.

" Get the hell out of here!" Austin growled in a low tone. " Get out of here, or I'll throw you out of here!"

Ally took a deep gulp of air and gave him a small nod, before climbing to her feet. She winced when her weight put sudden pressure on her right ankle, for it had landed in an awkward position when Ayden had thrown her back.

She wanted to explain herself to Austin, but she knew that at this very moment that wouldn't be a god idea.

" Don't you dare ever come back." Austins cold voice hissed out to her back.

For the first time ever, Ally regretted the fact that she had photographic memory, for the look of hatred Austin had given her would be etched into her brain for a long time...

" What did she do to you Ayden?" Austin demanded as he stared with worry at his nearly hyperventilating friend.

" Austin? Ayden? What's wrong?" Sean asked with concern as he entered the cell with the others. " Where'd Ally go?"

" Tell me what she did to you?" Austin yelled as he shook Aydens shoulders.

" Calm down! You're making it worse, Austin! How do you expect him to calm down when you're not calm yourself?"

Austin let out a loud growl, and deeply sighed, knowing Sean was right.

He just wanted to know if Ally had really caused harm to Ayden, because a little part of him didn't want it to be true.

" Okay you're calm, now write what happened Ayden." Sean said.

With a slow, shaky finger, Ayden wrote out an explanation on the ground.

_It wasn't her fault._

Austin felt instant relief consume his body as he stared down at the messily written words.

_She saw my scars. She knows._

They fell silent, and exchanged eye contact.

_She probably thinks I'm dirty._

Austin chuckled, " That's it? That's what made you cry as if you been stabbed?"

Ayden bit his bottom lip.

" You should know by now that Ally doesn't judge people by physical attributes, but by what is in the heart." Austin lectured. Ironically enough, he was lecturing Ayden on the girls good nature despite yelling at her just minutes prior.

" Austins right, she found the contrast of my deep voice to my childish face, charming." Elliot said.

" A- and sh-she c-called m-m-my st-stutter c-cute!" Grant piped up.

" Ally doesn't care for your scars, at least not in the way you think. And definitely doesn't think you're dirty."

Ayden nodded, and Austin smiled, before sighing, regretful of acting so angrily earlier. He would apologize, and explain himself to her tomorrow, definitely.

Little did he know that he wouldn't have the chance tomorrow...

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><p><span><strong>This was a long chapter, yes? I hope you all enjoyed it. Thank you for reading. But, before you go! I've got a question!<strong>

**In this story Ally possess the amazing talent of having photographic memory, making her Anamnesis. What amazing talent do you have, or would like to posses?**

**Tell me in your review, and if you'd like, please tell me your favorite line from today's chapter! Thanks!**


	4. Dainty

**Genuine Beauty**

**A&A**

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><p><em>Dainty [ˈdān-tē] adj. - Delicately beautiful or charming; exquisite.<em>

Three days had passed since the false accusation Austin had made against Ally, and she hadn't been able to make it to the Noye house ever since.

She cursed her bad luck. Why did a pile of work suddenly strike her at that moment? Austin probably saw her absence as her admittance of guilt from attacking Ayden, or if Ayden had explained everything to him, he probably saw her as a coward.

Ally Dawson was not a coward.

Ally hurriedly made her way down to the cages; she was moving so quickly that she would have nearly missed the familiar patch of dark brown hair amidst a group of guards if it wasn't for the squeal of a voice. She froze midstep, and slowly turned in a clock like motion to face the group of offenders attempting to hide in the dark shade of a hall. Her ears perked once she heard one of the guards murmur, "Be a good boy, Ayden." and her eyes immediately narrowed in anger at the sound of the name.

"You will let go of him at this very instant," Ally's cold voice cut across the air like a knife. Despite the softness of her volume, her words were said with anything but submission. "You will let go of him or I will have your head."

The guards spun around, guilty from being caught in the action, and Ally's eyes widened when they caught sight of the boy that had been forced to his knees in the middle of their man made ring. Her blood boiled in fury; were they the assholes responsible for the marks that served as permanent symbols of suffering for Ayden?

A hundred thoughts cluttered her mind all at once, and she forced them out to concentrate on the current situation at hand. One of them opened his mouth to shout angrily at the girl for interrupting, but another quickly held him back.

"That's the daughter of the Dawson family, hold your tongue," Ally heard him whisper quietly.

Ally's small steps made not even the slightest bit of noise against the hard floor, and she walked towards them in almost a calm manner. The guards would have let out breaths of relief if it wasn't the look of pure death in Ally's eyes that sent shivers down their spines.

Within a few seconds, Ally stood besides them. She stared down at Ayden's body and he averted his eyes in shame, embarrassed that he had been caught in such a situation by his friends master. If she hadn't before, surely she would view the older now as tainted goods, dirty and filthy from the touch of other men.

To his uttermost surprise, she knelt down and pulled the boy's pants up for him, not even blinking when she met eye contact with his private area. She looked around for Ayden's shirt, and her eyes zeroed in on the ripped scraps of clothing that littered the cold ground.

She then pulled her own jacket from her shoulders and placed it around Ayden's torso. After that, she gave him a small smile of reassurance so quick that Ayden had to mentally debate whether or not he had actually seen the curve of her lips.

The room was silent and the tension was so thick that the sharp look of Ally's eyes could have cut it in half. She slowly gazed at all of their faces, and the guards felt beads of sweat roll down their foreheads with every passing second. Why wouldn't she say anything?

"I," Ally finally stated, her clenched fists remained hidden at her sides. "Have photographic memory."

She remained silent for a few seconds to let her words sink in before she continued with, "I have memorized all of your faces. After I take care of matters here, I will return to the office and ask for the records of employees. After I find out all of your names, I will go to the owner of this place and demand for the firing of each and every one of you. When that is done, which I assure you, will be, I will journey to the capital's justice department and turn in your names as predators who attacked a member of the Dawson family. I suggest that you spend the remainder of this week with your families, because you will be hung within a week's time."

Ayden was shocked that the girl could utter such words with such a cold voice and emotionless face.

"Ayden," Ally called out softly as she turned to the Noye. "Come, follow me. We will return to Austin now."

Ayden took a deep gulp and nodded his head. He quickly trailed after her when she made her way down the passage to the cages.

"Wait, please!" one of the guards cried in exasperation.

Ally froze when she felt a hand clamp down on her shoulder, and she slowly turned her head to glare back at the guard with disgust. "You will get your filthy hand off of me unless you want your family to be hung at your sides."

That of course was an empty threat. Never would Ally impose any harm on the soul of an innocent. The guard, however, did not know that, and he immediately pulled away with shut lips.

"Come, Ayden," she stated once again as she continued down the corridor. The two walked in silence, and the only noise made was the soft footsteps of the pair. Austin had been pacing back and forth when they arrived, and spun around once Ally announced their presence in her familiar soft voice.

"Ayden!" Austin exclaimed with relief as he wrapped his arms around the boy's torso. He had heard that Ayden had been taken away by the guards again, and had been waiting stoically for his friends return. He was relieved to see that he had returned relatively untouched.

"Please take care of Ayden, Austin," Ally's soft voice stated. He looked up from over Ayden's shoulder to stare into the girl's knowing eyes.

Austin didn't know if he was happier to see his friend safely back into his arms, or Ally's face for the first time in three days. Three days too long.

It was almost frightening how he could have longed for the girl with such desire when he had only known her for such a short period of time. Not even a week had passed, yet he found himself already under the spell of vixen. If this was what he felt in a week, how would he feel in a month? In a year? Shudders ran down his spine at the thought of it. Yet, despite this fact, he still had continued to pine for the face of the tiny girl.

He had so many things to tell her. He wanted to apologize for his stupid behavior from a few days ago, and he wanted to know what she had been doing for the past three days to not have come to visit them. Had she been so angry? Had she been so hurt? There were so many things he wanted to know.

"I have things that I have to take care of now, so I must leave early today," Ally continued in a soft voice before turning around.

Ally's face immediately fell at her words. It had been three days since he last saw her face, yet she was leaving so soon already?

"Wait," Austin called out as he stepped forward.

Ally wearily glanced back at him. "What is it?"

"Did you… did you save him?" Austin asked in a quiet voice as he timidly glanced at her.

Ally stared at him in silence for the longest time, and he hated the way she looked at him. He felt when she looked at him; it was as if she was capable of looking through his clothes and his skin to see his innermost thoughts. He felt vulnerable.

Ally gave him a curt nod before she spun away on her heels to leave the cage. Again, her footsteps made no sounds. She registered the soft plea of Austin's voice telling her to come back soon before she left the cages completely.

Austin's thoughts for the girl disappeared when he registered the tight grip Ayden had on his shirt, and he wrapped his arm with an even tighter grip around his shoulders.

It was at that moment that Austin swore he had never been as thankful in his entire life as he was then. Four years. He has had to watch Ayden get dragged off with those disgusting men for four, long years, with the inability of doing anything.

He still remembered the first time it had happened as if it was no more than a day ago. It was in the middle of the night when he had been awoken by the sudden cries of his name.

His eyes flew open just in time to see Austin being dragged away by a handful of guards. The look of fear in Ayden's eyes was enough to make him go mad, and he attacked the guards without hesitation. He was obviously outnumbered, and was taken down in almost an instant. All he could do was watch under the blows of fists and flashes of blood as his delicate friend got dragged off to a corner. The last thing he had saw were Ayden's wide eyes before he blacked out.

When he finally regained consciousness, he registered Ayden who was at his side, silently tending to his wounds. He sat straight up and stared at Luhan in panic, ignoring the pain that shot through his system.

"Ayden! What did they do to you?!" Austin exclaimed as he clasped his hands on the boy's shoulders. Ayden didn't speak, but he knew that he didn't have to use words to explain what had happened to him.

"Ayden," Austin's strained voice sounded. "Are those… bite marks?" He got his answer when he shamefully averted his eyes with tears threatening to spill down his cheeks.

Austin didn't say anything after that, and neither did Ayden. He simply engulfed the older, fragile male into his arms and rocked him back and forth, swearing to himself that he would never let them touch him again.

Ayden limped the entire week.

He broke his own promise two weeks later when he was awoken once again to the sound of cries and whines. He didn't want to open his eyes for he was scared of what he'd see when he did, but he forced his eyelids open anyways.

The guards were different this time, but they still had similar intentions as the last ones. Ayden screamed for Austin, and Austin darted forward without failure, hoping to this time come to his rescue. He threw his fists blindly and scratched and bit everything that came in contact with him but it still wasn't enough.

The events of that night replicated the one from two weeks ago, and again, the last thing Austin saw before he blacked out was the look on Ayden's face as he got dragged away. This time his expression was made up of fear, and just the slightest tinge of disappointment. Austin didn't know who he was angrier with – the guards or himself.

Austin woke up to Ayden's gentle hands as they tended to his wounds, and he just lied there silently, staring up at Ayden's fatigued face. His eyes unconsciously traveled down to his neck, and his eyes flashed with anger once he saw that the bite marks had doubled, or even tripled in quantity.

His eyes went back to Ayden's face and he unconsciously met eye contact with him. "Don't look," Ayden whispered shamefully as he covered his marks with his hands. The movement was useless seeing as how there were even more marks covering his bare arms, they were even worse, however, because scattered among the bites were bruises – bruises in the shape of fingers.

A month passed after that and nothing had happened. By then, Ayden had already calmed down, and had forced himself to forget all the things that happened on those two nightmares of nights. Austin was smarter than that, however. He stayed awake every night, refusing to let the weakness of sleep consume him as he watched over him.

Finally, they came.

Austin was well prepared, and with a single blow, he managed to knock one of the guards out with the metal pipe he was equipped with. That was enough to anger the other guards, and he shouted for Ayden to wake up and run away, but it was too late.

As a punishment for actually getting the nerve to prepare himself with a weapon, the guards decided to give Austin a gift before they knocked him out with brutal fists.

That night they made him watch.

They told Ayden to be a good boy, and to put on a good show for Austin.

The next day he couldn't even meet his eyes.

A few more months passed by, and Austin finally allowed himself to feel at ease once again. Perhaps the guards had gotten tired of Ayden and had gone to prey on some other innocent Noye. He didn't care who it was, as long as it wasn't Ayden.

He soon realized how naïve he had been when he stumbled upon Ayden and the guards one night when had had awakened to relieve himself.

"That's right, you're a good boy, Ayden. You're being such a good boy."

He stood there for a few seconds in shock, not being able to mentally process what was happening before his eyes. Ayden's face was completely expressionless. His eyes were closed and his face was stoic – as if he had already grown used to the rough treatments, and was simply waiting for the end. It wasn't until one of the guards acknowledged Austin's presence that his eyes flew open in horror.

"Austin- no," Ayden's cracked voice rasped. "Please, leave."

"You heard the boy, leave," one of the guard bellowed in laughter.

Austin's hand curled into a tight fist, but before he could even attack, a searing pain shot through his abdomen. He staggered a few steps forward, and stared at his torso to see the stalk of a knife jutting out of his body.

Ayden's screams were the last thing he heard before he blacked out.

He woke up the next day with a throbbing pain in his stomach and a tearful Ayden next to him.

"Are you okay?" Austin exclaimed as he shot upwards, letting out a low hiss of pain at the sudden strain the action caused his wound.

Ayden calmly wiped his tears away from his eyes and nodded as he gave him a small, forced smile. "I am fine, Austin."

Austin registered that he was lying on something that completely contrasted the hard floor of the cages, and his eyes darted around to observe the white walls and curtains.

"You're in the hospital," Ayden explained as he placed a gentle hand on Austin's forehead.

Austin's eyes widened in surprise. A hospital? How on earth was he in a hospital? Never before were Noyes sent to the hospital, even if they were on the brink of death! The owners would much rather have the Noye die then waste their time and money healing their wounds.

"Austin," Ayden stated quietly. Austin's attention went back to him.

"Austin, I want you to stop fighting them," Ayden stated in a silent voice. "No matter what they do to me, I want you to stop fighting them. I want you to turn a blind eye and ignore them."

When Austin's mouth opened in outrage, Ayden held up a hand to silent him. "Please, do this for me. Do this as a favor to me."

"A-Ayden, I know I haven't been able to save you yet, but I will! I swear to god I will! Don't lose hope in me," Austin exclaimed.

Ayden shook his head with a sad smile. "I haven't lost hope in you, idiot. I just… I just hate seeing you get hurt. It's worse than what they do to me. Please. By you fighting back, it just doubles the pain I feel."

Before Austin could even reply, Ayden climbed to his feet and quickly made his way to the door. "I want you to abide by my wishes, Austin. This is the last thing I will ever ask of you, please. I will see you tomorrow, good bye."

Austin's protest disappeared from his mouth once Ayden vanished from sight. Tears sprung to his eyes, and he fisted the sheets of his bed angrily. "Damn it!"

Ayden didn't come back to visit him the next day, nor did he come the next.

Finally, a week later, Austin was able to leave the hospital and be returned as a Noye to the cages. He had been waiting for that day the entire week, and the doctors found it strange that the boy would be so willing to leave the nice comfy bed and decent food to return to a life of horror, but he ignored them. They didn't know about Ayden.

When Austin returned, a wide smile spread across his lips once he spotted Ayden sitting calmly in the middle of their cage.

"Ayd-!" Austin's happy cry of Ayden's name died in the air once he turned to look at him. His smile wiped off his face, and he sprinted to Ayden and fell to his knees, ignoring the pain that jolted through his body from the rough impact. "What have they done to you?"

Ayden kept his promise. That was the last thing he would ever ask of Austin.

Austin never heard the sweet voice of Ayden again.

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Hello all my beauties, well here is your update on Genuine Beauty, and I want to thank all my reviewers who actually write meaningful comments on my work, or any of their ideas, and not the simple, 'update soon' one, but it still goes appreciated.<span>_**

**_Also, I will be updating Like Fragile Glass soon and there will be a lot going on there. Anyways, I hope everyone did an amazing job on finals, and I hope you all have a great winter break._**

**_Important!_**

**_I have one last story coming out titled, Run Away With Me, but after being thoroughly inspired I decided just ONE more after that._**

**_It will be released on February 14, 2015, and is titled..._**

**_' There Is A Place'_**

**_It was originally gonna be titled, Somewhere Only We Know, but really liked how, 'There Is A Place' sounded. Tell me your opinions, and thanks for reading._**


	5. Enthralling

**_Genuine Beauty_**

**_A&A_**

* * *

><p><em>Enthralling [in-ˈthrȯl-ing] verb - to capture one's attention completely; fascinating; spellbinding<em>

Ally returned to the cells the next day at an ungodly hour of the morning, and she greeted the sleepy Noyes with heavy bags under her drooping eyes.

"You look exhausted, Ally," Elliot frowned as he rubbed the sleep away from his eyes.

"I've just been busy, that's all," Ally murmured sleepily as she stumbled towards them in small strides.

Austin felt worry consume his chest, and he immediately left Ayden's side to go to Ally's. He stood firmly next to the girl's swaying figure, ready to catch the weak body if it were to collapse. "You shouldn't have come. You should have gone home to rest."

"You told me to come back soon, didn't you?" Ally murmured through drooping eyelids.

Austin was both embarrassed and amazed that she had heard his silent request, and he couldn't help but feel a sudden happiness burst through his chest. Still, he refused to let his glee show on his face, and he forced his eyes to narrow at the exhausted girl. "Not if you were going to come like this. You should go home to rest." _No, don't leave._

"I can't," Ally murmured as she sunk to the hard ground. She pulled her knees up to her chest and rested the side of her face against her knee caps. "I already sent my driver away for the night."

It was beginning to get even harder for Austin to force the frown on his face. "You like being so much trouble, don't you? Well, since there is no choice, I guess you can slee—"

"You can come sleep with me, Ally!" Sean piped up cheerfully as he patted the open space next to him.

Austin's jaw dropped. What exactly did Sean think he was doing? He should know his place, and his place was definitely not at Ally's side. That was his place! It was Austin that Ally had chosen at the hallways, it was Austin that belonged to Ally, and it was Austin that the girl had called beautiful. How dare he even offer to share his scrap of blanket with his master?

"It's quite alright, Sean," Ally responded as she closed her eyes. "I would take up too much room. Just return to sleep, alright?"

Sean and Austin would have laughed at the words that the girl stated if they didn't want to interupt her rest. How could a girl of such small size actually think that she would consume too much space? Sean opened his mouth to protest, but through the dim moonlight that came through the barred window, he accidently met eye contact with Austin. The other's angry orbs were enough to tell him to shut his mouth. "I… I'll be getting to sleep then. Goodnight."

The other's fake snores that came seconds after were much too obvious, and Austin resisted the urge to face palm himself. Luckily enough,Ally was simply too exhausted to care for distinguishing the differences between real and fake snores.

"Come," Austin stated silently as he scooped the small girl into his arms. She gave him weak protests as he transported her over to his scrap of a blanket, and laid her across the thin protection from the cold floor. Austin frowned when the girl shivered, and he never hated the poor living arrangements of the cells more. He lied down next to her and slid his arm underneath the girl's neck, transferring her head to his strong chest as a better source of warmth and support.

He was overjoyed when the girl didn't protest against the new sleeping arrangements and his lips spread so wide that he was afraid they would have ripped when the small female curled closer against the radiator of heat. Her quiet, even breaths that sounded seconds after were enough to tell him that she had fallen asleep, and now he dared to open his eyes and stare at the small girl.

He couldn't see much except for a nest of hair, and internally cursed himself for positioning her at such an angle. Now how could he admire the girl's delicate, doll like features?

Austin's eyes immediately widened in realization, and he would have slapped himself if his arms weren't all too comfortably wrapped around Ally's small shoulders. He let out a long, quiet groan as he thought about the current situation. He was giving in to the girl much too quickly for his liking.

He found it utterly ridiculous that after 3 years of knowing Sean and Elliot, he still didn't completely trust them, yet with only a week of knowing Ally, he was already willing to give up his life for hers if a situation were to demand it.

That scared him. He never cared for anybody other than Ayden before, and the fact that those that he needed to watch over and protect doubled in numbers, scared him.

Austin quickly decided, however, that he would erase the fearful thoughts from his mind and simply enjoy life as it was. Life in the present. Life with Ally.

Little did Austin know that he wasn't the only who had changed so quickly after the introduction of a new character into their life. Ally had transformed her character in an even more dramatic way than he had. No longer did the petite girl speak in soft tones of such few words at a time. Although her character stayed rather monotonous when she was home, she seemed to slip under a whole new persona when she was with the boys.

She was still soft spoken of course, and wasn't fond of too much excitement, but she enjoyed herself a lot more. She spoke complete sentences, stringing several of them together at a time. She found herself actually making an effort to talk to the boys, and to sneak them food and medicine, to care for them. Most importantly, she found herself smiling with them.

The boys had made her smile more in the past few days then she had in almost her entire life.

It seemed as though fate was working rather quickly in turning the gears of their relationship; as if it to make up for all the time lost

Austin woke up the next, or to be more exact, later on that morning from the hushed giggles and whispers that flew across the room.

"What the hell is going on?" Austin grumbled as he rubbed at his eyes. He tried to get up, but a light weight against his chest reminded him not to. His face softened as he felt the warm puffs of air from her lips skitter across his thinly clothed chest. Due to his restraint, he strained his eyes to see the faces of his giggling friends.

"You got cozy with the angel pretty quickly," Axel stated with a smug expression and crossed arms. "The two of you look as if you're glued to each other with the way you're sleeping."

If it wasn't for the fact that Austin didn't want to interrupt Ally's peaceful sleeping, especially with how tired she had looked earlier that morning, he would have thrown the girl off to strangle Axel to death.

"S-S-Sor-Sorry A-A-Austin," Grant stammered as he fiddled his thumbs together. "I-I t-t-told th-th-them to b-be qu-quiet, b-b-but th-they would-wouldn't l-l-li-listen to m-me-me."

"Grant, your stammering hasn't improved the slightest bit these past three days. Did you not practice?" Ally's quiet voice sounded.

Austin mentally groaned as felt Ally's long eyelashes flutter open against his shirt before slowly pushing herself into an upright position. "You should have practiced even if I wasn't here to help you."

Grant pouted and he seated himself in front of the sleepy girl. "B-B-But I-I-I did-did-d-didn't kn-know w-w-when y-y-you-you we-were-were c-c-c-com-coming b-b-b-bac-back."

"Why does it seem like your speech as has gotten much worse?" Ally sighed as she flicked the other against his forehead.

Grant yelped from the action and rubbed the spot on his forehead with a pout. "Y-Y-Y-You s-s-s-said-said i-it w-w-wa-was-was c-c-cut-cute!"

Ally chuckled at the boy's defensive tone, and she reached out with one hand to blindly dishevel the boy's hair. "I did, and I still think it is cute. Isn't it you who wants to get rid of your stammering so quickly? Then you should be the one practicing every day."

Grant sighed in defeat and nodded his head. "I-I-I'll pr-prac-pract-practice ev-eve-every d-d-d-day th-the-then-then."

"Good," She smiled as she gave the boy a final pat on the head.

To Austin's surprise, the next thing Ally did was fall backwards to rest her head on his chest. "Now all of you should be quiet so I can sleep. I'm tired, if you hadn't noticed."

Elliot chuckled at the girl's childish action, and chimed out, "Sleep, sleep!"

"Come on, until Ally wakes up again I'll help you with your speech," Axel stated as he wrapped an arm around Grant's shoulders to lead him out of the cell.

"Ayden, do you want to come fetch the daily meal with us?" Sean invited the elder as he and Elliot prepared to depart the cells.

Ayden bit down on his bottom lip in hesitance. He never went to fetch the daily meal without Austin, but now he saw that he was too preoccupied to go with him. He certainly didn't want to pull him out of his happiness, but he didn't want to get the daily meal without Austin at his side either. Ayden gave him one last glance before agreeing to leave with the pair.

"Ayden's coming with us, Austin," Sean called out the younger as the trio made their way out of the cells.

Ayden glanced over his shoulder and smiled when he saw that Austin hadn't even noticed the other's notification.

Ayden was surprised that he didn't feel any sort of bitterness or jealousy towards the figure that was lying in Austin's arms. He always pictured himself as the sole figure of importance in Austin's life, and now that another one had come butting in, he thought that he would hold the girl at a level of contempt. He honestly had no such feelings, however, and was actually happy that the younger had found another person to protect.

After all, the protection that Austin offered Ally was different from the one he offered Ayden. Austin's loyalty towards Ayden was to some extent, almost mandatory in Austin's eyes. He saw Ayden as the last of his family who obviously needed protection, and therefore provided it. Ally, however, Ally was somebody that Austin _chose_ to protect, and that made Ayden happy. He was happy that if something, some day, were to happen to him, he wouldn't have to go through the guilt of leaving Austin all alone. Austin would have something to live for, even if the younger didn't realize it yet.

Honestly, Austin was at that point wide awake, but he decided to not even make the slightest movement in fear that it would cause the girl on his chest to awaken. He would never admit it, but he liked the radiating warmth of the small girl. Carefully, he raised his free arm and with a single finger, lightly brushed the girl's hair away from her face in hopes to get a good look at her.

His action was in vain, but he was still content with the soft skin the tips of his fingers had come in contact with. Were all girls this nice to touch? He doubted it. Ally was probably the only girl in the world with skin so creamy and soft.

"Alright, it's time to get up now," Elliot's loud voice announced after what seemed to be only seconds.

Austin let out a small growl when Ally was tugged off of him, but immediately bit it back as he watched how she cutely rubbed her fists against her eyes. She stretched her arms above her head and let out a small yawn that resembled a puppy.

"How late is it?" Ally murmured through closed eyes.

"Late enough for you to be up, that's for sure," Elliot replied as he plopped down next to Ally. "You were gone for so many days and you look so tired, what happened? I was worried that you were never going to come back." At the latter part of his words, several dirty gazes were shot over at Austin.

"I had meetings to attend," Ally answered as she finally opened her eyes, blinking several times to get adjusted to the light. "I haven't been able to sleep for very long during the past few days."

"What kind of meetings?" Elliot asked curiously as he settled himself on the other side of Ally, giving no room for Austin to scoot forward.

Austin let out a quiet sigh and glanced up when Ayden gave him a gentle pat on the head with a knowing expression.

"Business meetings, just boring things,"Ally replied, wanting to quickly change the subject. "Where are Grant and Axel?"

"Axel should be helping Grant with his speech right now. They should be back here soon enough," Elliot answered before going back to the previous topic. "Why do you have to attend business meetings, Ally?"

"I… I'm going to inherit the company from my father," Ally murmured as she gazed down at her lap. "So I have to attend the meetings to know what to do when it's time."

Sean nodded his head, his curiosity satisfied with her answer, and moved on to talk about something else.

Austin noticed how Ally's eyes remained trained on the ground, however, and he couldn't help but think that maybe the girl wasn't so fond of the idea of taking over her family business.

Ayden quietly made his way over to Ally's side and sat silently behind the girl. Ally felt a tug on her sleeve, and she looked down to see Ayden staring up at her with his large orbs of eyes. He pointed down at the ground, and her gaze followed his outstretched finger to read what he had written.

_Will those guards really be punished?_

Ally fell silent for a few seconds before simply responding with, "I always speak the truth."

Ayden appeared satisfied with that answered, and he cleared the message from the ground to replace it with a new one.

_Thank you for saving me._

Ally stared down at the message for a few seconds before slowly climbing to her feet. She held out a hand to Ayden and he stared at it with a confused expression.

"Take a walk with me," Ally suggested gently.

Ayden stared hesitantly at Ally's outstretched hand, but slowly he slipped his fingers into her grip. Ally gave him a smile, happy that he trusted her enough to willingly travel alone with her.

"Ayden?" Austin asked with alarm when he caught sight of the two exiting the cell by themselves.

"We're just going to go on a walk, Austin. I won't be of any harm to Ayden, you know that," Ally reassured him as she held up her and Ayden's intertwined fingers. "I'll keep him safe. Nobody will dare to mess with him if he's found with me."

Austin looked to Ayden for reassurance, and was satisfied with the small nod that he received.

"Be back soon," Austin stated simply as he relaxed in his seat.

"I won't keep you away from Austin for too long," Ally stated once the two of them were a good distance away from Austin's ears. "I just wanted to talk to you for a little bit."

Ayden had an idea of what she wanted to talk to him about, and he took a deep breath to prepare himself. Honestly, he didn't know if he would be able to hear the words the girl had to say without breaking down in tears, but he really didn't want to. He didn't want to seem even weaker in front of her.

"Ayden…" Austin stated slowly. "I wanted to know if you actually want to be my Noye."

Ayden stopped midstep and blinked. That wasn't what he was expecting to hear.

"Sorry, I must have surprised you," Ally said apologetically. "I just… I guess I just wanted to hear your opinion on the matter first before I make any decisions without you."

Ayden nodded his head slowly but remained silent. He then stopped mid step and squatted down to write into the ground. _Why haven't you asked Austin?_

"Because you're making the decision for him," Ally responded simply.

Ayden cocked his head at the vague response and stared at her with a raised eyebrow of confusion. _What do you mean?_

Ally chuckled quietly and turned to him with a bemused expression, "I would never split you and Austin up, Ayden. The two of you… I'm not sure how to explain how I view your relationship. Perhaps... symbiotic? I don't think you two could live without the other."

Ayden soaked in her words, and continued to squat there for a few minutes unmoving. It wasn't until he began to feel the burn of his stiff muscles that he finally outstretched his finger to write once more.

"What is this? The master taking her pet out on a walk?" the nasty voice stung the ears of Ally and Ayden, and they looked up with intense glares already positioned on their faces.

"Such a cold welcome," Dallas scoffed as he used a hand to pat down his perfectly gelled hair.

"You aren't being welcomed," Ally retorted with a tone of voice that paralleled her cold face. "Come, Ayden."

Dallas was quick to cut in front of the two, his footsteps kicking away the reply Ayden had written into the ground.

Ayden frowned as he stared at the dust that hid away his response to Ally's question.

_I want to stay with you._

* * *

><p><strong><em>Thank you for reading the new chapter of G.B. Hopefully you all enjoyed it. Also, don't forget to read my new and last story, ' Run Away With Me' check it out now, thanks!<em>**


	6. Sublime

**_Genuine Beauty_**

**_A&A_**

* * *

><p><em>Sublime [\sə-ˈblīm\] adj. - Characterized by nobility; inspiring awe<em>

"Why are you so quick to leave? I wanted to spend a little time with the guest that has come nearly every day this week," Dallas stated with a sultry grin as he glided to Ally in a snake like manner.

"The feeling is not mutual," She replied simply without batting even an eyelid.

Dallas's smirk only widened at Ally's cold words and attitude. He took a step closer to the girl and caressed her face with a single finger. "Your hostility towards me only makes you even more alluring."

Before Ally could swat the offending hand away, Ayden did it for her. He stepped in front of the girl with narrowed eyes and lips curled into a small snarl. He didn't know where his sudden confidence and courage stemmed from, but he knew that he wouldn't allow the man to lay a single dirtied finger on her.

He wasn't in love with her romantically, not at all, but the girl gave him a sense of security and protection that he used to only receive from Austin. Therefore, he felt as if it were his obligation to return the favor.

When Dallas's eyes narrowed dangerously, Ally was quick to tug Ayden backwards and away from the attacking fist.

"You will not harm a single hair on his body unless you would like to be sued," Ally stated with a calm tone. She hated using her family power as her shield of defense, but she would discard her pride if she was able to recieve safety for the others in exchange. "I should remind you that he is now registered under the Dawson family, you pathetic excuse of a man."

"What did you call me?" Dallas growled as he gripped the collar of Ally's dress to pull her towards him. "Don't give me useless threats, you . I won't hesitate to take your and your little pets' lives."

Ally didn't even flinch. "It seems like now it is you who are making the useless threats. A bit hypocritical of yourself, would you think not?" she asked calmly as she stared boldly into his eyes.

Dallas's eyes flashed in anger, and he pulled his fist back to attack Ally.

Truth be told, Ally honestly wanted Dallas to impose harm onto her. That way, she could report his brutal attacks and have his sinful placed under great scrutiny. That is why that she calmly stared straight into his eyes, allowing his fist to come forward despite the fact that she could have easily evaded the hit.

There was a sharp pain as Ally felt the clenched fist collide with her left cheek, and despite the throbbing skin, Ally could have nearly grinned in victory. He wouldn't be able to escape the box she would corner him in.

Dallas grinned, feeling victorious with the sudden silence his fist imposed on the girl. "Now you have nothing to say, huh? I guess you're starting to regret talking back to me, aren't you, ?"

Ally rubbed her jaw gently with two fingers and cocked her head to the side. "My apologies. My silence was due to the fact that I wasn't able to comprehend how much you hit like a girl."

Another flash of anger lit up on Dallas's face, and his face twisted into a nasty sneer. "Well, I guess you need another fist to teach you a lesson, don't you?"

Ally simply stayed silently as she wearily eyed the approaching fist, hoping that it would hit the other cheek to make her appear twice as battered when she went to report his attack. She had fibbed just the slightest bit when she stated that he hit like a girl, because truth be told, the punches did certainly leave a painful after feel.

The fact that she stated that he hit like a girl wasn't much of an insult, either, because despite Ally's fragile exterior, her fists still packed quite a punch. Nevertheless, she gritted her teeth and tucked away her pride; her pain was worth the trouble the bastard would have to go through as result.

The second punch never came, however, and Ally's eyes widened in surprise when Dallas suddenly hit the wall behind him. Ally's head darted to the side, and she shot forward to stop the new presence from going in for another punch.

"Elliot, you will stop right now!" Ally exclaimed frantically as she blocked the other's fists with her hand. "Calm yourself this instant."

"Ally, move aside! I swear to god!" Elliot exclaimed, nearly mad as he tried to move forward to land another fist onto Dallas.

"Elliot! Elliot, please, stop it!" Ally exclaimed as she stood firmly in her spot to stop the other from approaching. Her words failed to persuade the other to cease his attacks, however, and Ally sighed. She was left with no choice.

Before Elliot could fling his fist forward, Ally kicked at the back of Elliot's knee to send him flying backwards. She gripped onto his arm as he was flying down, and shoved him to the side so he slammed against the wall. She grabbed his arm and gently twisted it as she held it against his back.

"Elliot, calm down, please,"Ally whispered gently as she soothingly rubbed his upper arm. "I won't let you go until you calm yourself."

Elliot's anger had vanquished rather quickly, replaced almost immediately with absolute astonishment that the tiny girl was capable of overpowering him so easily.

"I'm going to let you go now, please don't attack him," Ally stated quietly as she let go out Elliot's arm. She immediately bowed when he slowly turned around to face her with furrowed eyebrows of confusion and a hint of amazement. "I'm sorry, Elliot. I hope that didn't hurt."

"I-It didn't, not really," He blushed as he scratched the back of his head, feeling extreme embarrassment wash over him at the fact that he had been beaten by a girl.

"You're going to pay for that!" Dallas growled as he held onto his aching jaw. "Don't think you won't receive a punishment for that, _Noye." _Dallas spat out the word as if he had tasted dirt when the word passed his sent them all one last chilling glare before he hobbled down the path in the other direction.

Ally let out a sigh of frustration as she watched Dallas disappear around the corner. She had stopped Elliot because of the actions she was afraid Dallas would take out on the Noye.

Dallas wouldn't be able to touch her or Aiden in the public eye because they were protected by her family name, but that wasn't the same case for Elliot. Under the eyes of the state, Elliot was just another trouble making Noye who attacked a higher up and deserved punishment for it.

"Elliot you're foolish," Ally muttered under her breath as she ran her fingers through her hair. "You will be punished now. Why did you physically act against him, Elliot? You should have held your fist."

"But he hit you!" Elliot exclaimed childishly as he pointed to your bruising cheek.

A small smile spread across her face, and she found herself unable to continue to scold the boy any longer. "I will see what I can do to evade your punishment. Come on, let's go back to your room."

She turned to Aiden who had been frozen in his spot, shamefully staring at his feet. "Aiden? Come, let's go."

Aiden responded with a curt nod before darting forward, not daring to raise his head from shame. He was such a coward, really. He had watched as Dallas attacked her, and simply watched once more when he made movement to attack once again. The sudden burst of courage he had experienced disappeared as quickly as it had come, and he found himself unable to protect her, even when his brain had been shouting demands and profanities at himself to move.

He had been standing no more than a feet away from the two and made no movement to stop Dallas, yet Elliot, who had been located far away from the group darted forward to stop the advancements on the girl. He was a coward.

He glanced behind his shoulder and caught a glimpse of Ally's bruised cheek. A huge coward.

"Did you two have a nice talk?" Austin asked as he climbed to his feet to greet the pair at the front of the cage. He moved forward to hug Aiden, but his jaw dropped in horror when Ally walked in with her swelling cheek. "What happened to you?!"

He cupped the girl's face into his hands, making sure to put less pressure against her bruised cheek, and stared at the swelling flesh. "Who did this to you? I swear to god I'll kill him."

"You will kill nobody," Ally replied calmly as she pulled his hands away from her face. "It is fine. This idiot over here already hit him."

"Did he bleed?" Austin demanded as he glared at Elliot.

Elliot gave him the thumbs up, and Austin's mood lighted the slightest bit with that satisfaction. "Who did it?" he demanded once more.

"It's nothing, Austin, just don't put any thought into –"

"It was that bastard, Dallas," Elliot answered quickly, looking innocently away when Ally shot him a dirty look.

"Austin you will rid yourself of that expression as of this moment," Ally demanded as she observed the narrowed eyes and pressed lips of the other. "You will not do anything to harm Dallas, or I would have taken this hit for nothing."

"What?" Austin asked with confusion expressed through an arched eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"Contrary to my appearance, I am not a weak and useless girl. I am fully capable of protecting myself, and would have easily overpowered Dallas if I needed or wanted to," Ally responded with a small shrug.

"Then why?!" Austin demanded as he pointed angrily to her bruised cheek.

"Because," Ally responded calmly to the angered boy. "I am protected by my family name. And my family name will do much more damage than my fist could ever do. Do you understand?"

Austin stared at the girl incredulously. She was willing to accept an attack to her face just so the other would serve the punishment? Was she ridiculous?

"You…" Austin muttered as he clenched and unclenched his fists. He ran his hand through his hair and stared down at the small girl with an expression comprised of disbelief and admiration. "You're so dumb."

Ally smiled at his words, wincing gently when the stretch of her cheeks caused a small jolt of pain to shoot through her facial muscles. Austin's face dropped at her sudden expression, and began standing to retrieve the first aid kit, until Ally shook her head, skittering away.

"Ally!" Austin exclaimed with a glare as he watched her sprint to the front of the cage.

She held up a hand and gave them all a small wave goodbye as she called out, "I'll see you tomorrow!"

Before he could even begin to chase after the stubborn girl, she had disappeared from sight.

"That little brat," Austin huffed under his breath and he begrudgingly tucked the medical care back into its respective corner. He eyed Elliot who was laying down on his blanket, and concern for the other consumed him.

"Hey," Austin stated quietly as he sat down next to him. "Are you going to be okay?" Austin and Elliot both knew that if Elliot actually landed a punch on the punk son of the owner, he definitely wasn't going to get off punishment free. He could only hope that Ally would actually be able to free the other of his future sentence.

Elliot didn't respond and simply turned on his side to face the other direction.

Austin licked his dry lips, and his eyes darted to the figure and back to the palms of his hands. "Do you... do you regret it?"

This question got an actual verbal response from Elliot, and the tall male sat upright as he smacked the younger on the back of his head. "Are you kidding me? The only thing I regret is not landing a few more punches on his ugly face."

Austin let out a soft chuckle, and patted him on the back in what he hoped was a comforting manner. "She'll save you. Trust in her."

Elliot's face immediately fell, as he slowly shook his head. "She'll try... I know she'll try, but... not even she can save me now."

Austin opened his mouth to respond with words of assurance, but there was a little voice in his head that told him not to. He wanted to trust in the girl he had hardly known for a week, but the little voice told him to hold his tongue. He didn't want to feed Elliot with false hopes of freedom and protection if Ally wasn't capable of actually providing it.

The next morning came without a word of punishment, and Austin almost believed that Elliot was going to be saved. He knew, however, that Ally had failed when a guard suddenly marched into their cage, causing them all to jump with a start.

The guard slowly opened a scroll to read the content aloud. "Elliot Christian you have been given the punishment to be publically whipped in one hour's time. This is due to your defiant behavior towards the head of the Noye house, and should serve as a warning. The next time this is to occur, you will be publically hung. We will come to fetch you within the hour."

Eyes filled with panic immediately darted over to stare at Elliot, who paled at the sound of his consequence for acting out against the owner's son. "H-How many times?"

"30," the guard answered in return before he turned on his heels to march out of the cages.

Elliot took a deep gulp of air and closed his eyes. _Thirty whips._

"They can't do this to you," Sean cried in outrage. He waved his clenched fist in front of his face. "We'll stop them!"

"Sean, remember the promise we all made," Elliot stated firmly as he stared into the eyes of each and every one of them. He might have sounded strong on the outside, but on the inside he was shaking like a coward.

_Thirty whips._ The most he had ever received was 10 one time when he tried to steal bread a while back, and that many already made him ache for weeks.

"J-J-Just wa-wait f-for A-A-Ally, sh-she'll do s-so-something abo-about i-it-it," Grant stated as he nodded his head eagerly.

Elliot sadly shook his head. "No, she can't. She can protect Austin and Ayden because they are registered under her family name, but not me. I'm just another Noye here that has no connection to her under the law."

The 5 of them fell silent for they knew that his words were the truth. Ally had no control over this; there was a limit to even her power.

"Let's just hope she doesn't arrive any time soon," Elliot sighed as he ran his hand through his knotted hair. "If she were to interfere with these matters, she as well would receive a punishment."

The cell fell silent as each of them grieved for the unfairness that was to be imposed on their friend. One hour's time passed on like that, and by the time the guard had returned to pick up Elliot, he had managed to somewhat mentally prepared himself for the pain he was to go through soon enough.

"I hate these bastards," Axel muttered through clenched fists as he watched Elliot disappear around the corner with a guard holding each side of his arms.

"W-w-we al-all d-do," Grant whispered as he laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I don't want to watch," Sean stated quietly as he sat down on his blanket. He buried his face in the palms of his hands and miserably repeated, "I don't want to."

"Come, Sean," Austin replied as he pulled the other to his feet. "It's going to hurt to watch, but just think about how much it'll hurt Elliot, even more if we don't stand firmly in front of him to give him the support to tough it out."

Sean opened his mouth to protest, but reluctantly nodded his head in agreement. It would be selfish of him to not attend just because he didn't want to go through the pain of watching Elliot suffer.

Sean, Austin, Ayden, Axel, and Grant stood silently side by side as they watched their dear friend receive whip after whip to his bare back, now shining with blood. They wanted to fight back, only god knows how much they did, but they couldn't. Because they knew they would lose against the weapons of the guards and only end up getting beat themselves.

It was a promise the 6 of them had made a while back. The promise that if one of them were to get beat, none of the others were to interfere. Interference would only result in more people to have wounds to be tended to, and that would be of no good to anyone.

As he watched Elliot receive whip after whip to his back, his cell mate; Sean's nails dug into his palms as he clenched his fist tighter and tighter. He took a step forward with the thought of damning that promise to hell, but stopped when Austin placed a shaky hand on his shoulders.

"Don't, Sean. He wouldn't want you to," Austin whispered with a shaky voice.

That was enough to get him to stand his ground. If he was feeling as miserable as he was, he could only imagine how Sean must feel. Sean, who had known Elliot his entire life; if he was capable of standing his ground, then Austin would be to.

At his side, Grant was sobbing into his cell mates; Axel's shoulder as the other wrapped a protective arm around the small boy.

"Just ten more Elliot, just ten more. Come on, you can do it," Sean was muttering under his breath.

The six boys watched as Elliot passed out, tired and bloody from the all the whips he had received. Displeased with this, the guards ordered for a bucket of water to be poured over Elliot's head. A few slaps were given to the soaking face, and Elliot regained consciousness once again.

Austin was honestly a little disappointed that Ally had not come to save the day. He didn't blame her, of course, but he had somewhat liked the idea of being able to rely on the girl presenting solutions to all of their problems. She had done so on multiple occasions, so the expectation had come almost unconsciously at that point.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?"

Austin's head, along with 4 others, jerked up at the sound of the familiar voice.

A smile spread across his face as he watched the small girl push through the crowd until she was standing right next to Elliot and the guard enacting the whipping._ Elliot would be saved._

"I asked," Ally repeated herself with a hard glare. "I asked what the hell do you think you are doing?"

The guard glanced around nervously as if he were to find the answer among the crowd of Noye faces. He recognized the girl as the only child under the Dawson family name, and knew that she possessed powers to kill him over ten times if she wanted to.

"He's enacting a punishment instated by I," Dallas's voice came to the guard's rescue as he stepped off the cushioned chair he had been seated on as he watched the wicked entertainment. "There is nothing wrong with that, for we are completely justified to punish the wrong doings of Noyes."

"Not this particular Noye," Ally responded with a hard voice. She calmly reached into her bag and pulled out a file of papers. "I, Ally Dawson, inheritor of the Dawson corporations, am suing both you and this establishment for ownership of half of your territory."

Dallas's eyes widened in surprise before being quickly replaced with anger. "What?!"

"Are you deaf? You are being sued on multiple accounts. First, the unauthorized physical and verbal assault of me, Ally Dawson. Second, the establishment is being under attack for the unauthorized physical cruelties imposed on the Noye under the Dawson family name, Ayden. And I guess the latest one to add to the list is the fact that you have broken the code of protection imposed on this particular Noye, Elliot Christian."

"What are you talking about?!" Dallas roared as he held up his hand to attack Ally once more.

"Would you like to add a fourth account to the list of attacks? I would be happy to receive ownership of 3/4s of this company if you choose to continue as you do," Ally stated firmly without even blinking against the hand. "This Noye is protected under the code of law, and your public beating has broken it. If you flip to the third page you will find the plea of protection for this Noye approved by the state government. I suggest you contact your lawyer quickly, and unhand Elliot from this punishment."

"It's impossible for him to have gotten approved for a plea of protection! He's not even a citizen of the state, he's just a dirty Noye!" Dallas exclaimed, outraged.

"Do not underestimate the power of the Dawson family. Due to the fact that Elliot aided in the protection of myself against your assaults, he has been approved for protection against unauthorized means of punishment," Ally stated. "It's outlined on the 3 page as I stated earlier. Are you uneducated? Would you like me to read it aloud for you?"

Dallas let out a loud growl, "You'll pay for this you filthy ," before spinning on his heels to stomp away from the punishment grounds.

Ally watched with firmly crossed arms until Dallas was completely swallowed up by the crowd before turning sharply on her heels to Elliot's side.

"I'm so sorry," She murmured as she cupped the boy's sweaty face into the palms of her hands. "Just hang on for a little bit longer and I'll get you treated."

"Jayme's, quickly!" Ally called out to her driver to help her carefully transport Elliot's body. A hand placed itself onto her tensed shoulders, and she spun around to look at the relieved faces of the other boys.

"Where are you going to be taking him?" Sean asked in a quiet voice.

Ally noticed how pale Sean's face had faded, and softened at the sight.

"I'll keep him safe," Ally responded, giving Sean's hand a gentle squeeze of reassurance. "I'm going to bring him to the hospital to get treated. Jayme's, hurry!"

"Handle him gently, Jayme's," Ally chided as Jayme's carefully pulled Elliot to his feet.

"Ally,he will get blood all over the seats, are you sure?" Jayme's asked with uncertainty, hesitating in front of the car door. He simply nodded his head politely and proceeded to help Elliot into the car when she shot him a sharp look.

"I'll be back with news on his condition, soon," Ally promised as she quickly made her way to join Elliot in the back of the car. She was stopped by a sudden hand, and glanced back to see Austin staring at her with an incomprehensible expression etched into his face. "Austin?"

"Take care of him for us," Austin simply stated in a small voice before he pulled away.

Ally smiled knowingly and promised to abide by his words. Even though Austin didn't care to show his affection for anybody other than Ayden, she knew that his care and concern for the others still existed.

She gave the boys a final wave goodbye before slipping quickly into the car. The 5 boys stood there unmoving, and watched as the car turned a sharp corner to disappear from sight.

"D-d-don-don't wo-worry, S-Se-Sean. Al-A-Ally wi-will t-t-ta-take ca-care of E-Ell-Elliot," Grant sniffed as he patted Sean's back reassuringly.

"Come on," Austin stated quietly as he turned the other towards the cages. "Let's go back. Ally is taking care of him now." As the others slowly went in, Sean took one last glance back at where the car had disappeared with a lightened heart.

That fragile, 5 foot girl was capable of doing what none of them could. She was capable of providing them with the protection that they couldn't even provide for each other.

* * *

><p>I<strong><span> very much enjoyed this chapter. I enjoyed it, because you can see how much each boy care about one another; especially their cell mates. You could only see how much Ayden and Austin both cared &amp; loved one another, but in this chapter you got the chance to see how much Sean loves Elliot. It's special. <span>**

**Do anyone of you beauties have that one person you love and care about so much, like the boys?**

**Anyways, the next chapters are gonna be intense, and pretty sad. So, get a box of tissues ready. You'll need it.**


	7. Intrepid

**Genuine Beauty**

A&A

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><p><em>Intrepid [ in-tre-ped] adj. - characterized by resolute fearlessness, fortitude, and endurance<em>

"Your father has returned from his trip and is waiting downstairs for you. He said that he wanted to eat breakfast together since it has been quiet a while," Jayme's informed Ally the next morning after the week of Elliot's incident, and he was now back at the cells, healthy and well.

"He'll probably just scold me for visiting the Noye house too often again," Ally sighed as she gestured for Jayme's to come forward and tie her neck tie; she always had problems with where the fabric was suppose to loop through. "Let's go down; we can't keep him waiting."

"Ah, Ally," Lester greeted his daughter when she entered the room. She returned his greeting with a small smile before taking a seat in her respective spot at the dining table. "How is school? Do you still have first place in your grasps?" Lester asked as he placed down the newspaper he'd been reading.

"Yes," Ally answered politely as she took a bite out of her toast. "Jayme's?" Lester called out expectantly. "Miss Ally scored perfectly on the last exam. In their overall rank, the student in second place is still over a hundred points away from beating Miss Ally," Jayme's immediately stated.

A satisfied smile spread across Lester's lips and he let out a bellowing laugh. " My daughter is always so modest." "Thank you for your praise," Ally responded quietly. Her eyes caught sight of the headline on his newspaper, and widened in surprise. "Father, may I..?"

Lester's eyes lowered to follow Ally's line of sight. He picked up the newspaper and handed it to his daughter. "Such a horrible event, wouldn't you think so? I hope this doesn't ruin business. Those rodents are always causing trouble for the rest of us; you would think that they know their place in society by now."

Ally remained silent as her eyes quickly scanned the inked text, mentally retaining all the information that was present. "Well, I must leave now or I'll be late," Lester excused himself as he put on his coat. "Be safe today, and don't stay too long at that dump. It's especially dangerous now."

All Ally spared was a nod as she continued to read the article. "We must go or we'll be late," Jayme's stated the second Ally placed the newspaper down. She nodded her head and followed him to the car as she thought over the things she had just discovered. A small smile slid onto her face and her eyes gleamed at the thought of the idea.

"Change of plans, Jayme's," Ally announced as she slid into the car; the words she had just read in the newspaper were still fresh in her mind. "Looks like we're going to be paying an early visit to the Noye house."

* * *

><p>"There's been a revolt," Ally whispered in a hushed voice of excitement as she stared into the eyes of the six Noyes. "What do you mean?" Elliot asked with a raised brow of confusion. "What kind of revolt?"<p>

"A Noye revolt, there's been one a few days ago not too far from here," Ally stated. Her eyes darted over her shoulder every so often to make sure no others were ease dropping on their conversation. Austin got a bad vibe from the look on her face.

After deeming her next words safe from foreign ears, she added in a hushed whisper, "What if we had a revolt ourselves?"

Dead silence captured the cell, and her eager smile slowly slid off as she gazed at the unenthused faces that stared back at her. "Are you crazy?" Sean finally stated. "We wouldn't make it ten minutes."

"Ally, I'm thankful that you're so eager to help us fight for our freedom, but...a revolt?" Axel murmured hesitantly as he scratched the back of his head. "I don't think...I don't think that's the right path for us." Grant nodded along with his words.

"Then what exactly is the right path for you, Axel?" Ally demanded, a sudden anger capturing her chest. "What? I'd like to know. Are you going to be chosen in the next hallway showing and spend the rest of your life serving an ungrateful, snotty daughter of a noble? Is your goal in life to simply serve the same person over and over again without the respect each and every one of you deserve?"

"To be constantly ridiculed among the elites and spat at and taken advantage of? Why are you allowing your pathways to be deemed by society's unjust standards? This cycle, this cycle of cruelty and inequality is just going to continue year after year after year. A Noye is born, a Noye is brought, a Noye is killed-it'll never end. You are all simply seen as pawns and tools of society; why will you not fight for what you deserve?!" Ally was nearly in tears by the time she finished her words.

She knew it wasn't her position to say such things to them, and that they were within their rights to be offended by her words. Despite this, she didn't regret them. If she, a complete outsider who was situated at the prosperous end of the social ladder, was willing to fight for the freedom of those at the bottom rungs, why aren't they? They had their reasons, of course, but she couldn't help but feel disappointed with the lack of motivation and determination.

Did they not want change?

The boys remained speechless around her, not knowing what to say in return. They knew that ultimately, she was right, but still they wouldn't do anything. To stage a rebellion against the Noye house would be no easy feat. Not only would they be against hundreds of guards, but they'd also be fighting against the state. They'd be considered fugitives, and if found, they'd be killed on the spot.

They weren't willing to lose their lives for the freedom they no longer missed.

They also weren't willing to sacrifice Ally's name. They knew she was willing to help them whole heartedly, which is why they had to reject the idea the idea even more. The girls had presented them with nothing but kindness and protection- how could they repay her by risking her life?

And perhaps they were just selfish. Why would they have to go through the hardship of fighting for another's freedom?

"I'll be taking my leave now," Ally stated as she picked her bag off of the ground. Sean opened his mouth to protest, but the look in her eyes told him that he should let her go, so he said nothing.

Ally glanced at them for a final time before briskly making her way out of the cell. She left them in silence that would haunt them for the rest of the night.

* * *

><p>Austin's eyes darted to the door with uncertainty. It was nearly three in the afternoon; did Ally plan to never come back? He chewed hard on his bottom lip and tapped his foot impatiently. Austin's uneasiness didn't go undetected by Ayden. He tugged at Austin's sleeve to grab his attention.<p>

_Are you thinking about her?_

Austin's face flushed, embarrassed to have been caught. Ayden grinned in amusement and carved another message into the ground.

_Do you love her?_

Austin's eyes widened at the question. "Of course not! I do like her as a person and I certainly respect and admire her, but to _lov_e her?" Ayden pursed his lips, disappointed that Austin still hadn't realized his feelings. Now it was true that they had only known Ally for a couple weeks, but even he wouldn't turn a blind eye to the tight bond she had formed with each one of them.

Ayden had trust issues. Austin had trust issues. Each and every person who was ever labeled with the word "Noye" had trust issues, yet Ally was so easily able to break down those barriers. Ayden didn't understand how she was capable of slipping past the walls that protected their hearts but it wasn't as troubling as he thought it would have been.

Austin wouldn't admit it, for he probably didn't realize it yet himself, but Ayden knew that he loved the girl. He assumed that Austin was in denial of his feelings because he would feel weak if he did accept them. He was the strongest, and falling for a girl within a mere few weeks was not strength. In Austin's eyes, it was a weakness and he didn't need any more weaknesses.

Ayden was about to nudge the latter one more until he was interrupted by a familiar voice. Ayden almost laughed at how eagerly Austin jumped to his feet; like a puppy greeting his master.

"Sorry I'm late," Ally apologized with a shy smiles as she stared curiously at the boys, worried that her harsh words from the day prior were still lingering in their heads. She was met with silence. She opened her mouth to give them a sincere apology, but was stopped when a sudden figure ran to her.

"Grant?" Ally asked the boy who had his arms wrapped around her. "I-I th-thought you we-were n-never c-coming b-ba-back!" Grant cried as he fisted the back of her shirt. The boy looked so torn that even Austin didn't mind the closeness of the two.

Ally cocked her head in confusion. "Why would you think that? I would never suddenly disappear without informing you guys."

"B-but yo-yo-you we-were-were an-ang-angry ye-yes-yest-yester-day-day!" Grant cried, his stuttering becoming twice as worse with the tears that rolled down his cheeks. Ally clucked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, "Do you take me as somebody who would abandon you just because I was frustrated?"

Grant bit hard on his quivering lip and let out a sniffle. "N-No." She pressed each of her fingers into the sides of Grant's mouth to pull his lips into a smile. "Then you shouldn't cry."

Grant swiped his eyes with the back of his dirty sleeve and nodded. His lips curved into a small smile of relief. "Then you...you aren't angry with us anymore, right?" Sean asked timidly. Ally chuckled and stretched upwards to dishevel the boys bangs, "No, I am not angry anymore. It was unreasonable of me to throw this onto you all so quickly, so I apologize for that."

Elliot quickly shook his head, "Don't be sorry! Its not your fault!"

"Don't be mistaken, however," Ally clarified. "I'm not apologizing for my suggestion. I'm simply apologizing for the fact that I expected you all to jump on board right away, and that I got angry when you didn't."

They all exchanged silent glances to one another, and nodded. A smile broke across Ally's face as she gazed at the boys in front of her. "Now then, who wants to try some of the pastries I've snuck in for you all?"

* * *

><p>With constant work piling up on Ally day after day, she was unable to visit the Noye house for a long week, so she was quiet excited to be seeing them after their long week apart.<p>

She sighed as she climbed into the backseat of the car. Jayme's shut the door behind her before making his way to the drivers seat. Ally slipped off her shoes and pulled her knees to her chest before wrapping her arms around them and leaned the side of her cheek against the caps of her knees.

As a child, Ally never had time to waste on normal juvenile things like playing tag with friends or dressing dolls. While other kids stalled maturity with video games and water gun fights, her child hood had been the exact opposite.

With no petty activities to stunt her mental growth, Ally had matured rapidly during the early years of her adolescence. She would neither be accepted by the peers of her age because of her mental maturity nor the adults because of her physical immaturity.

And it sucked, a lot.

The faces of the Noyes drifted into her mind and she unknowingly let her lips curve into a small smile. Maybe that was why she loved them to the extent of sacrificing her own life. Ally had found the place so many people searched for till white stemmed from the roots of their hair.

A place free of the judgments of society - free of stereotypes, of scornful glares of jealousy. She found her place of acceptance, her home. A home, a true home, wasn't a place you had come from, but rather a place where you were wanted.

* * *

><p>Ally had arrived at the Noye house with high spirits, determined to desert all the negative energy that had spouted from earlier that day, but once she stepped into the cells, however, all positive thoughts immediately disappeared.<p>

Instead of seeing a group of happy faces, she was met with the sight of guards roughly restraining the Noyes. Axel was sprawled out on the ground, loud growls emitting from his throat as two of the guards held him down. Austin and Elliot were shoved up against the walls with their arms twisted painfully behind their backs.

Sean had attempted to shield Ayden and wrapped his arms protectively around the youngers shoulders as a guard gripped each of his arms tightly.

And then there was Grant, face as white as snow and bottom lip tucked into his mouth. He stood with his head hung in shame, tears rolling down his cheeks as Dallas shouted profanity at him. Ally walked in just in time to hear the shouts of, "You're lucky we're even giving you this chance! Do you know how hard it was to get somebody to take in some stupid retard like you?"

He didn't get to shout anymore insults before he was interrupted by Ally's presence. Her blood ran cold and her body stiffened at the sight of the cruel treatment imposed on the people she held dear.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Ally shouted angrily, her voice climbing to a volume she had never reached before, and all motion in the room froze at the echoing voice.

Dallas was the first to snap out of his fright and he glared hard at the girl in front of him. "We're taking this retard to the dock. He knew this would happen if he didn't get rid of his stutter, so its all on him that he hasn't gotten any smarter."

"Don't you dare insult Grant," Ally growled. She commanded the guards release the boys. There was clear hesitance in their eyes, for they were unsure as to whether they should listen to her or the son of their boss. The decision was made when she snapped again, however, and they quickly fled the room.

Axel climbed to his feet and sprinted to Grants side once he was released. He wrapped his arms tightly around the trembling boy, and whispered words of reassurance into his ears. Grant fisted handfuls of Axel's shirt, streams of tears running down his cheeks.

"Come with me," Ally commanded as she stared at Dallas. Her cold voice sounded almost unrecognizable to even her own ears. "Why should I?" Dallas bit back in a feeble attempt to maintain dominance.

Ally answered him with a sharp glare and jerked her head towards the exit. Dallas followed reluctantly, and flinched when Ally abruptly spun around to face him. She took out a long breath, calming herself down enough so she wouldn't lash out.

"How much?" Ally asked in a clam tone. "How much are you selling Grant for?" Dallas scoffed with crossed arms. His confidence returned to him now that he knew Ally hadn't brought him somewhere to slaughter him. "I'll pay you double," she continued. "So don't you dare sell Grant."

"Why the hell do you want him anyways? He can't work, hell, can't even speak right!" Dallas exclaimed incredulously. His breath was quickly knocked out of him when his back painfully hit the stone wall behind him.

"Don't insult Grant," Ally growled, the grip she held on his collar tightened and he gulped fearfully as she stared him down. "W-What do you think you're doing? I thought yo-you were supposed to be a goody two shoes that says no to violence," Dallas stammered.

"I think you've misunderstood something. Did you really think that the way I treat the boys is the way I treat everyone? Don't you dare lay another finger on any of them again or I will smash your life into pieces, are we clear?" Ally stated in a low voice as she stared him straight in the eyes. Dallas fell silent for a long period of time. Finally, he summoned up the courage to force a smirk onto his face.

"You've been treating those Noyes with such kindness but this is your true character, isn't it? Don't you think you've been too fake with all the things you've done for them? I know all about you. I know that you always try to lend a hand to those who are unfit to exist in society. Who do you think you are? Aren't you just a phony pretending to be an angel?"

Pity and sympathy were then presented in Ally's eyes. "So pitiful and pathetic."

"W-What?" Dallas exclaimed in a shrill tone.

"You assumed that because my actions are what you consider as 'too kind', they must have been done with intent other than simple kindness. So its pitiful that both you and the people you've been exposed to are too selfish and greedy to extend a helping hand to those in need. The things I've done should be the natural instincts of all human beings, in which we should all want to help each other out, they're actions that we shouldn't have to think twice about enacting."

"These things you've deemed 'too kind' are things that should be commonly done in an ideal society. Therefore, I don't appreciate being called a fake just because I choose to separate my actions from the tainted social norm," Ally responded with a tight jaw and narrowed eyes.

Dallas's jaw gaped slightly open as he soaked on the words she chided him with. "You are pitiful, Dallas, because you have become so accustomed to the dirtied society we live in that you can't believe that people would actually do things for others just because its the right things to do. You are pathetic because you hold all acts of kindness with suspicion, always looking for the ulterior motive," Ally continued.

"And, I feel sorry for you. I feel sorry for the way you must have lived in order to see everything with such a negative perspective. The reason why I might extend my kindness a little further than others might is to make up for all the areas in our world that are lacking; for all the selfish, human trash like yourself," Ally's voice strained. "Because our society could do with a little less cruelty and a little more kindness, and these Noyes, no, these people, these human beings with beating hearts ...they're the first ones in line that deserve it."

"That's why I think you're pitiful," Ally took a step back, "And that's why I think you're pathetic."

Dallas scoffed, and despite how much her words infuriated him, he couldn't bring himself to argue. He knew she spoke truth in her words, and that simply made him even angrier.

Finally, he could stand it no longer and quickly walked away from her. Ally let out a shaky breath, and leaned against the wall. She didn't know where she had gotten the courage to say such words, but she was glad she did, for it felt as if a huge burden had been taken of her chest.

A broken sob snapped her eyes open and she stared in surprise at the six boys standing before her. "Grant?" she asked slowly. "What are you all here?"

Rather than replaying, Grant broke into another round of tears as he ran forward to throw his arms around her shoulders. "Th-th-than-thank-y-yo-you!" He chocked out, clinging onto her as if his life depended on it.

"Don't scare her," Axel chuckled as he pried the sobbing male off of her. He gave Ally a sincere, grateful smile as he took Grant into is arms.

"We kind of...followed you," Elliot admitted nervously, "Just to make sure Dallas wouldn't attack you or anything."

"We heard what you said," Sean spoke up, his eyes gleaming with affection and gratitude. "Oh," Ally replayed simply, feeling incredibly embarrassed from the stares she received.

"Lets do it," Austin stated suddenly. He was met with coked heads and raised eyebrows, for they were confused at what he was referring to, "The rebellion, lets do it."

Ally's eyes widened in surprise as she processed his sudden words, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, you said we're humans, right? So its time that we're treated that way." "It wont be easy, you could die, it might not end a success." Ally warned as she stared at their eager faces. "We know," Austin smiled as he wrapped his hand around hers to give it a comforting squeeze.

"We know what we're getting into. We know the sacrifices we're going to make, and the consequences that might occur as a result. We know it all. But you've been the one fighting for us all this time."

The corner of his lips twitched upwards as he stared straight into her eyes. "So now it's our turn."

* * *

><p><strong>So a lot is gonna happen, keep reading. Thanks to all those meaningful reviews, I really want every reader to take something from this story, and I haven't been really seeing it. So uh, shout out to LuckyStarz910 for always leaving such great reviews, that always go appreciated. Thank you. I'm not gonna continue writing such a beautiful piece like this if no one is really paying attention to it, and seeing its whole aspect. <strong>


	8. Vicissitude

**Genuine Beauty**

* * *

><p><em>vicissitude [ve-si-se-tud] n. - a change of circumstances or fortune, typically one that is unwelcome or unpleasant.<em>

_A_lly staggered backwards at the sudden weight that clamped onto her body the second she set foot inside the familiar cell.

"Ally! It's been so long!" Sean whined as he practically swallowed the girl with his tall height. "You look tired," Austin frowned as he brushed the dark circles under her eyes.

"You're overworking yourself, aren't you?" A small smile slipped onto Ally's face and she poked his arm teasingly, "Are you worried about me?"

"Of course I am idiot," Austin muttered. "How could I not be?" His words caught Ally by surprise. She had expected him to deny her teasing accusation, and maybe even blush, but definitely not agree with her.

"Why do you look like that? I'm not that cold-hearted, you know." Austin muttered as he gently bumped her with his elbow.

"What is this I see?" Elliot grinned as his eyes darted between Austin and Ally. "Sean, are my eyes deceiving me or is Austin actually being an affectionate puppy to Ally?"

Sean rolled his eyes at the description Elliot used. "Puppy my ass. He's more like a grumpy mutt." Austin shot him a sharp look and Sean quickly side stepped behind Elliot to use him as a human shield.

Ally rolled her eyes at their childish antics and turned to Axel, "How have the other Noyes reacted to the news you've spread?"

"There are mixed results." Axel answered after a brief silence. "What do you mean?" Ally asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I mean..." Axel started uneasily. "Most of the Noyes here haven't just been here for a few months, you know. Most of us have been here for years, and after years of cruelty and harsh living conditions, you kind of just stop hoping for anything. Ally, you've only been exposed to Noyes like us, but most of them, they can't even smile anymore."

Silence consumed the room as they all thought over Axel's words. People could only hold onto their hope for so long; especially when you were labeled a Noye.

"But there have been some sparks of interest!" Elliot quickly added in once he caught the dejected look on Ally's face. "It's not a total wash, I didn't expect everybody to jump on board right away. This kind of thing takes time, you know? A lot of time."

"A lot of time is something we don't have," Ally shook her head. She opened her mouth to continue, but was interrupted by a quiet knock. She and the other Noyes turned to the front door to see half a face staring back at them, the rest of his body mostly hidden behind the door.

"H-Hi." the male spoke quietly, his visible eye darting around the room to gauge their reactions. The others exchanged looks with one another before training their attention onto him.

"Hello to you as well," Ally smiled warmly as she stepped towards the stranger, "What brings you here?"

"I-I I wanted to help you." The boy murmured in a voice so soft Ally had to strain her ears to hear. Ally arched a brow, "Help with what?"

"Your plans," he answered as he slowly stepped into the room to reveal his entire appearance. He was quiet tall, and had disheveled brown hair and hazel colored eyes to match. He glanced bashfully down at the ground as he kicked the dirt at his feet.

"I wanted to help you with the rebellion." Ally, as well as the other Noyes were surprised at the words he spoke. "Who are you?" Elliot asked with an arched eyebrow of suspicion.

"M-My name..is Chase," the boy responded as he rubbed his arm. "I live in the cell next door, and I've heard some of your plans."

"You mean eavesdropping?" Axel scoffed. "Oh get off it," Elliot rolled his eyes and nudged Axel with his elbow. "The walls are gaping bars. He would hear us even if he didn't want to."

Chase glanced gratefully at Elliot for coming to his defense. "Would..y-you mind an extra helping hand?"

"You know what will happen to you if you get caught, right?" Austin asked with narrowed eyes. He wanted to be completely sure that the new comer knew exactly what he was getting into.

Chase nodded, "I know."

"Why haven't we ever noticed you before?" Axel asked. "I-I keep to myself, most of the time," Chase murmured quietly as he fiddled with his thumbs. "I-I don't really like interacting with other people."

"Why are you choosing to talk to us now?" Axel asked cautiously. "From what I've heard you all are very good people." Chase smiled shyly. "I want you guys to succeed." Elliot glanced at Axel at those words, who then glanced at Grant, who glanced at Sean, until Ally finally trained her gaze on the new male.

She smiled,"We'd be happy to have you." Chase's eyes lit up, and a smile pressed against his lips. Ayden patted the ground next to him to signal Chase to sit down.

The older male eagerly complied, happy that he gained some acceptance.

_How old are you?_

"I'm...I'm not sure," Chase admitted as he scratched the back of his head. "Maybe 22 or 23? I've lost track of the days." Ayden nodded his head understandingly; many Noyes eventually forgot meager details such as dates and hours when stuck in a place so long.

_How long have you been a Noye?_

"Only...maybe two or three months now?" Chase murmured as he glanced downwards. "It wasn't very long ago."

"Only two months and you've lost track of the days?" Sean laughed. "Man, you must have even worse memory than me!"

"Ah, it's not really that," Chase said with flushed cheeks, "I-I haven't really been keeping track of the days for a long time now." The cell fell silent at his words, some because of sympathy and others because of confusion.

"Why not?" Sean asked as he scratched his head. "How do you not keep track of the days?" Chase flushed an even darker red at his words as he clamped his lips together with no sign of continuing.

"Great job, idiot," Axel muttered under his breath as he smacked Sean on the back of his head. "You really have no social skills."

Sean pouted at the scolding and mumbled a quiet sorry to Chase. Ally then stepped foot in the center, clearing the awkwardness lingering in the air.

"Before we can continue as planned, it seems that there's a rather large road block in our path," Ally spoke up. "Which is?" Elliot asked with a raised brow. "We need to get our hands on a map of the Noye House," Ally answered.

"Unfortunatly, the blue prints are kept hidden from the public eye. Even I wouldn't be able to get a glance at such a thing."

"So what are we going to do?" Axel asked. "We're going to make our own," Ally smiled as she withdrew several items from her bag. She handed each of the Noyes a small notebook along with several pencils.

"From now on, wherever you go, you must document everything you see in these books. Make estimations as to how far apart buildings are, which hallways lead to which rooms, and so on. This will be a rather roguh sketch, but it's the best we can come up with as of now."

The Noyes nodded their heads obediently. "Make sure that you proceed with caution. It's easy to get caught, and if you're notebooks are confiscated, you'll be punished." Ally stated uneasily.

"I've gotten started on my draft of the area, but there are still a lot of places missing." She pulled out a larger paper from her bag, and unfolded the blueprints to show them what she had done so far.

"Thanks to my photographic memory, and Jaymes, who may or may not have hacked a couple security cameras."

"You are literally my new idol." Axel murmured in awe. "There aren't very many cameras, however, so they're still a lot of chunks missing." Ally continued. She wrapped the sketch back up and tucked it safely into her bag.

With a glance down at her watch, Ally figured that it was about time to leave. Her father certainly hadn't been giving her kind looks these past few days, for her late returns were because of the Noyes. As if right on cue, her phone vibrated on her pocket to signal that Jaymes had arrived and was waiting outside.

She climbed to her feet and sent the boys a quick wave of goodbye, and began leaving the cell. She was about to climb up the staircase to leave the floor until the call of her name sounded in her ears.

She was taken aback when a pair of arms engulfed her tightly from behind. Her body tensed for a few seconds, but she relaxed once she process the familiar scent of - "Austin?"

"When this is all over," Austin stated as he shyly pressed his forehead against the back of Ally's head. "If this ends up being a success and we're all free, even if we're free, can we still stay with you?"

Ally's heart warmed at his question, "You don't want to leave?"

"No," Austin responded firmly. "I want to be with you."

A few seconds of silence passed and Austin quickly realized how bold his words had been. "I-I mean, only if you want us. I can't really speak for Ayden, but I'd really like it if I could stay by your side. I don't have any advantages, but I wouldn't be too much of a pain."

"I'd try to stay quiet as possible and I'd do my best to protect you and-," Austin rambled on from embarrassment. He was cut off when Ally suddenly turned around.

She cupped the boys face with her small palms, "I'd like it if you two were by my side as well." She tilted the boys face down, and tip-toed to press her lips against the tallers forehead, sealing the unspoken promise with a kiss.

Austins face was bright red by the time she pulled away, but there was still a silly grin stretched across his face.

"Bye Austin," Ally smiled as she gave him another small wave before making her way up the stairs and out of the building.

Ally was met with a grim faced Jaymes and she immediately knew that the news he was about to deliver certainly wasn't posiive.

"You're father wishes to see you the second you arrive home," Jaymes informed her as she climbed into the car.

"Is it about the Noyes?" Ally asked cautiously. Jaymes nodded his head and his grip on the steering wheel tightened, "He's not happy."

Ally exhaled a deep breath, "I haven't assumed he has been."

"It's serious, Miss Ally. I haven't seen him this furious in quite a while," Jaymes responded with a concerned expression.

The ride home ended much too quickly for her liking and Ally took a deep steady breath before stepping out of the car. "I'll be right by your side," Jaymes whispered reassuringly. "And, try to stay calm."

"Pretending to keep calm is one of my many talents, Jaymes," Ally gave him a small smile. "You know that."

Jaymes gave her one last look, before he pushed open the doors to enter the house. The entire place was quiet and Ally squeezed Jaymes's hand a final time for a boost of confidence.

"You're home," Lester announced in a flat voice. Ally forced a smile on her face, and nodded her head, "Yes, just as you've requested."

"I assume you know why I had Jaymes fetch you?" Lester asked, and smiled with satisfaction when Ally answered with a soft yes. "Good, I'll discuss this with you later. Goodnight."

With those as his final words, he departed up the stairs. Ally stared blankly, "He's planning something."

"What?" Jaymes asked with a raised brow, "What do you mean he's planning some thing?"

"I recognize that face, the tone of voice, he's planning something." Jaymes frowned, "What do you think it is?"

"I'm not sure," Ally whispered. "But it's not going to be good."

The following day, Ally decided that it wouldn't be safe to visit the Noye house, and so spent the entire day attending meetings and finishing up all the work that had piled up over the last few days.

"You've sent in my project advancements, right?" Ally asked as Jaymes entered the room. "Yes, every one of them. Your father seemed rather happy with the progress." Jaymes answered.

Ally nodded her head in relief, and was about to speak, before a frown came across her face as she listened to the subtle thwacking coming from somewhere in the house. "Could you ask whoever is making that sound to quiet it down a little?"

"I think the gardeners are finally taking that oak tree in the back."

"Sure thing," Jaymes smiled as he gave her a two finger salute, and left. Ally hugged her knees to her chest, and sighed. "Just a little more," she whispered quietly to herself. Just a little more until they could start the first steps of the rebellion.

Just a little more unti, they'd be free from the timely constraints of her father, free from the cold air that circulated the metal cages.

"Miss Ally, I'm coming in." Jaymes flung the door open. His eyes wide with horror, Ally stared at him with surprise, "What is it?"

"Your father brought them here!" Jaymes cried as he wrapped his hand around the girls wrist to yank her forward. "What are you talking abo-" Ally's voice trailed off. "Austin? Is that who you mean? Austin and Ayden?" Her chest constricted when Jaymes nodded.

Ally immediately rushed out of her bedroom. "Where?! What is he doing to them?" Jaymes fell silent before responding.

"The noise."

Ally froze mid step and her hands fell limp, "The noise?" She repeated dryly. "They're in the workhouse at the back," he said, giving her a light push forward to get her moving. Ally had never sprinted faster, she shoved the maids out of her way, as the whipping sounds pounded in her ears.

She nearly ripped the door off its hinges as she entered, her eyes widening with devastation at the sight before her.

"Touch them again, and I'll kill you." Ally yelled, her fist curled at the sights of the puddles of blood dripping onto the ground.

"Ally," Austin whispered in a hoarse voice, a small smile spreading across his face as he used his remainng power to lift his head. Ayden was at his side, his back raw red from the whip.

His once delicate face was covered with dried tears.

"Ally, you've arrived home?" Ally slowly turned to look at her father. She stared at him with pure hatred. "Why?" She asked in a quiet voice, "Why did you do this?"

"To teach them a lesson," he shrugged nonchalantly. "And to teach you a lesson." He glanced over her shoulder to examine the state of the boys, and nodded his head approvingly.

"You may go now; you will receive a bonus on your way out." The man who had been in charge of the torturing placed the whip down, and kicked Austins torso for good measure, before leaving.

"It looks like now you won't need to waste your time in that dump, will you?" He nearly snarled at his next words, "Take this as a warning, Ally. Visit that place again and you'll find your other Noyes in a similar state."

Ally dug her nails into the palms of her hands, as her father passed by her with a smirk. Once he was gone, Jaymes rushed to call the doctor.

Ally sprinted towards the two, and was shocked to see how much blood they had lost. She dropped to her knees and cupped Austins face gently in her palms, "Don't cry, please," Austin whispered as he reached out to wipe the tears Ally unknowingly shed. "Please."

"I'm not crying," Ally responded as she stared into his eyes. "I'm not."

Austins cracked lips stretched into a small smile, "You...y-you lied. G-guess you can't say...can't say that you always speak the truth any-anymore."

The only sound the echoed through the four walls of the room was the shattering of Ally's heart.


	9. Victory

**Genuine Beauty**

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><p><em>AN: This chapter is very emotional, no joke! Get some tissues, and good, sad music on. I request: 'Block B- Be The Light'. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter of Genuine Beauty._

7 more chapter left!

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><p><em>victory [vik-tore-ee] n. - success in a struggle or endeavor against odds or difficulties <em>

It had been seven days.

Seven days since Ayden and Austin had suffered such harsh and unjust treatment.

Seven days since Ally had visited the Noye House.

Seven days since Ally had lost even the tiniest fragment of respect she had left for the man she called father, who she was soon about to face.

"Ally, your father would like you to come into his office," A maid called out. Before Ally could open her mouth to reject, the maid continued with narrowed eyes, "He was very insistent on it."

Ally, Austin, Ayden, and Jaymes exchanged glances before she reluctantly headed towards the his office, the three boys glued firmly to her side.

"It's been such a long time since I've seen your face, Ally," Lester greeted his daughter with a wide smile as she slipped into a nearby seat. Ally responded with a simple nod, before glancing down at her hands.

Lester cleared his throat, trying again to catch the attention of his daughter, but she simply ignored him. "I am very sorry as to how badly you're taking this," he stated as he stared at his daughter without even the slightest bit of remorse.

"I hope you will get over this quickly and realize why I had to do this, it was for your own good."

Ally twitched with nearly every word that came from her father's mouth, of course it would be _her fault_ that she was reacting negatively to the fact that he had beaten her friends nearly half to death.

It was _her fault_ that she couldn't see why it was for her own good. "I will do no such thing," Ally responded quickly. "I respected your orders to stay away from the Noye house, and I have been finishing all of my work at an impeccable speed. However, that is, the extent as to how much I will obey your wishes."

Lester slammed his hands on the table angrily, "Do you know what they have been calling you? They've been calling you a Noye lover! Do you understand how detrimental that is for our reputation?! I refuse to have our family tainted with such a disgusting label!"

There was a pause of silence, that rippled through the air with tension.

"Why is that so wrong?" Ally asked as she clenched the cloth of her dress tightly in her fists. "Why is it so wrong to care for those whom are treated like trash? Why is it so wrong to show compassion for those who need it the most?"

Ally recognized the expression that flew across her father face, and she knew what words were to come out of his mouth next. She clenched her fists tightly at her side in anticipation, preparing her heart for the words that were to slip from her father lips.

"I'm disappointed in you."

Ally blinked

And that was it.

Those were the words she had dreaded to hear for all 18 years of her life. The words that had always pushed her to the limits of her endurance. The words she had nightmares about, yet she felt nothing.

A giggle escaped her lips. How dumb she had been. How could she have feared for such a thing her entire life? Something as trivial and meaningless as that?

"What are you laughing about? I just told you I'm disappointed in you." He exclaimed.

"You might be disappointed in me," Ally responded, a small grin plastered across her face, "But I'm not," Ally didn't even wait for fathers response, and quickly continued.

"And, you've miscalculated something, father," Austin gave her hand a small squeeze of support, "You need me just as much as I need you. There are several companies who only have remaining ties with Dawson Corprorations because of me," Ally stated in a firm voice.

A dead silence quickly captured the room, "How dare you talk to me like that?!" Lester bellowed, "I am your father!"

Ally responded without skipping a beat, "Only by name."

"You insolent!" Lester spluttered furiously. He stabbed a finger in Austin's and Ayden's direction and commanded for the security guards to apprehend them.

Ally's eyes narrowed when the guards stepped forward and she darted towards them in a fluid motion.

Ally's gaze remained unwavering as she tightened her grip on the stalk of the knife that she pressed against her own neck.

"Anything you do to them, I'll do it to myself in ten folds."

"Ally!" Austin hissed, outraged at what the girl was proposing. "I wonder how Lester Dawson would look if rumors spread that he was abusing his own daughter?" Ally asked with a cocked head, eyes swimming with courage.

"Don't pull that bluff with me," He scoffed as he rolled his eyes. He nodded at the guards to tighten their grips on the two.

"Ally! Please!" Jaymes cried in protest when a drip of blood rolled down Ally's pale neck. "You should know me better than that, father. I'm not one to make empty threats."

Lesters eyes trained on the small trail of blood that spilled from her pierced skin. "What makes you think that injuring yourself will do anything to bring me shame? I can simply claim that you had a psychological outbreak that had nothing to do with me."

"I don't think you understand just how many people believe my word against yours, just how many people only continue their ties with Dawson Corporations because of me," Ally responded sharply.

As if on cue, Jaymes pulled a large folder out of his briefcase and flipped to the first page. "Shine Corporations has agreed to pull their 500,000 shares from Dawson Corp. if Ally is to break away from the company."

"The Castro family has agreed to eliminate their sponsorship of Dawson Corp's tropical branch if Ally is removed. The Hayes firm refuses to represent Dawson Corp for any legal disputes if Ally is no longer in place," Jaymes read from the files in land.

"Do you understand now?" Ally asked as she stared at her red faced father. "The list just continues on, if you'd like to hear. The Tsais, the Kyees, the Changs, and the Greenes- more than half of the companies tied together with Dawson Corp. are only there because of me."

"I made sure to fulfill my position back when I was being a perfect daughter, and went out of my way to get many of these companies to make contracts with us when they wouldn't have otherwise. The only string connecting them with your company is me. So you understand what this means, correct?"

"If I go down, Dawson Corporations goes down with me," Ally firmly continued. The corner of her lips curved upwards into a smug smirk as she stared at the twitching of her fathers veins.

"So what will it be, father?"

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><p>"Foolish girl," Austin muttered under his breath as he gently applied a plaster to her skin. "What are you going to do now if that scars?"<p>

"It won't," Ally shrugged in response. She stretched her arms up into the air and fell backwards onto her bed with a soft thump, a wide smile stretched across her face. "We're free."

Ally let out a squeal of delight and Austin rolled his eyes at her childishness. "We're not all free yet, you know."

"Don't be such a spoiler, Austin!" Ally whined. Austin turned to Ally with an arched eyebrow, "Am I hearing correctly? Ally Dawson is actually whining?"

He laughed aloud when Ally gave him another nudge, and reached over to ruffle the front of her hair. A blanket of silence captured the two and Ally turned on her side to gaze at Austins side profile, admiring the boys rugged features.

"It can only get better from here, right Austin?" Ally asked softly. Austin stared at the girls face for a few seconds before he reached out to brush a stray strand of hair from her eyes.

"I hope so."

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><p>Grant bit down on his bottom lip as he traveled the hallways alone. All of the others had been called out to work, while he was once again, left in the cell by himself.<p>

He was tired of being the only one who couldn't bring anything to offer, so he decided that it was time to venture out on his own.

He hated being the one who was left out.

He hated being useless. He hated being stupid. He hated being dumb.

He hated himself.

He knew the others saw him as a burden that they had to carry, even if they were too nice to say so. The others cared for him of course, but they would appreciate him much more if he could actually be of use.

All Grant wanted was to be wanted. All he wanted was to be needed.

He was just so tired of being useless and stupid.

Grant grumbled unintelligibly under his breath as he kicked at the dirt scattered across the ground. He had been so eager to leave the cell that he had forgotten to bring his notebook and pencil along with him.

Even when he was trying to be useful he was stupid.

"W-Why ar-are y-y-you so d-dumb?" Grant questioned himself under his breath as he kicked a rather large rock. He jumped in alarm when the rock slammed against a door to create the sound of a hollow thud, followed closely by a small creak.

Grant glanced up to see that the rock had hit the door to the private office of the Noye House, causing the unlocked door to open just the slightest bit. It was rather strange that the door was unlocked, for the entrance was often placed under intense security, since it contained many important documents.

_Important documents._

Grants eyes widened in realization, and his heart began to double in its beats. If this room really contained Important documents, then the map should be somewhere in there.

He could almost hear the praise he would receive from the others if he was to return with something as important as the map to the Noye house.

Grant glanced around to make sure nobody was watching before he silently tip toed over to the office. He carefully slipped inside once he confirmed it was empty. His heart was beating out of his chest, as he glanced wildly around the room to find the place that held the map.

Grant moved from cabinet to cabinet, desperately searching for the single piece of paper that would allow him to redeem himself. A single piece of paper, that was all he needed, and he couldn't even find that.

He fumbled through a few pieces of paper before his hands came to a sudden halt. His eyes widened with surprise and he quickly brushed a layer of papers aside to pull out the piece he was looking for.

He found it.

Grant hugged the map to his chest. He had really found it, he let out a cry of victory, a new sense of confidence pulsing though his veins at the success.

"Who's in there?!"

Grant froze.

Two guards entered the room before Grant could even turn his head. "What do you think you're doing in here?" One of the guards growled as he held up his gun threateningly.

Grant clenched the map tightly in his hands. He wasn't going to let them take it away from him. Now now. Not when he had only tasted the flavor of victory so shortly.

"G-G-Go aw-away," Grant whispered. His eyes darted from side to side as he tried to come up with a plan to escape.

"Hey, you're that Noye Dallas was trying to sell, aren't you?" One of the guards laughed as he approached Grant. He turned to the guard beside him and sneered, "You can put your gun away, Neil. This dumb kid isn't capable of doing anything."

Neil laughed, and tucked his gun away. "What was the idiot trying to steal anyway?" Neil chuckled as he unfolded the paper. His eyebrows furrowed in and he raised his eyes from the map to Grant.

"Take a look at what he was trying to steal, Colt," Neil handed the map towards his partner, while keeping his eyes on Grant.

"It-It's m-mine!" Grant cried as he reached forward to grab it. "You're even stupider than I thought!" Neil sneered as he shoved Grant to the floor. "Do you think anybody would believe that?"

"Why would you want this map, huh?" Asked the guard. "You think this has anything to do with that girl? The Noye Lover?" Colt replied thoughtfully as he eyed Grant up and down. "She is pretty close with this idiot, isn't she?"

Grants eyes widened in alarm. He wouldn't get Ally in trouble, he wouldn't. "I-It was-wasn't her! I-I g-got it o-on m-my-my own!"

"Yeah right, like you're smart enough to break into the office to steal this," Neil scoffed as he shoved a fist into Grants gut. "Tell me who sent you here, now!"

"N-Nob-body!" Grant wheezed as he clutched his stomach in pain. "Stop lying to us!" Colt exclaimed as he struck his fist against Grants face. The blow caused him to hit the ground with a thud and Colt grinned in satisfaction when Grant emitted quiet whimpers of pain.

"I-I'm no-not ly-lying," Grant whispered as he pushed himself onto his hands and knees, wiping the blood that railed down his spilt lip, and he spoke again, in a stronger voice, "I'm n-not ly-lying."

"Of course, you're lying! How else would you get in here? Everybody knows you're just some stupid Noye that only fulfills the role of being a waste of space!" His words caused a flame to ignite within Grant, and he slowly climbed to his feet. "Y-You're wrong."

"What? Speak up, I can't hear you," Neil laughed mockingly as did Colt, "Y-You're wr-wrong!" Grant screamed as he ran forward to shove the guard to the ground. "I-I'm not st-stupid!"

"Get this crazy kid off of me!" Neil exclaimed, but Grant kept pounding his fists against Neil's chest. Grant's eyes widened in fright, though, when Colt came forward to pull him off of his partner. Desperate for safety, Grant grabbed the stock of the gun from Neil's pants and quickly held it up at the two.

"T-Ta-Take it b-back! I-I'm n-not stu-stupid!" The guards held up their hands in alarm, "Yeah okay, you're not stupid, now give us back the gun!" Colt yelled as he tried to reach forward.

"S-Say i-it li-like y-you me-mean i-it!" Grant exclaimed as he pointed the gun at him. "Put the damn gun down, before reinforcements come!" Colt yelled angrily.

"N-No! T-take i-it b-back! Grant screamed, "S-Say i-it!"

"Grant?" A calm voice sounded above all the commotion. "Grant, what are you doing?"

Grant looked over the crowd of Noyes that had gathered by the door to search for the face that owned that familiar voice. "A-All-Ally!" He cried in relief at the sight of her, "T-tell the-them! T-tell the-them th-that I-I'm n-not stu-stupid!"

"Grant," Ally broke through the crowd with Austin and Ayden at her sides. Ally stepped forward, her heart breaking in two as she watched him wildly brandish the gun, "Grant, you know you're not stupid, so why are you doing this?"

"T-They sai-said I-I wa-was s-stupid!" Grant yelled as he held the gun back up at the guards. His eyes glossing with tears and his whole body began to quiver. "Well, are you stupid?" Ally asked, stepping closer towards him, she knew Grant wouldn't hurt her, but she was less certain for the well being of the guards. "N-No!"

"No what?" Ally urged the boy to continue. There was a beat of silence. "I-I'm n-not stu-stupid," Grant whispered, tears slipping out of the corners of his eyes. He was no longer angry or scared. He was ashamed.

"I know, Grant," Ally replied softly. "I-I'm not stu-stupid," Grant repeated himself in a louder voice, his hands shaking as he loosened his grip around the stock of the gun. A loud clattering thud sounded as the gun hit the ground. Grant straightened his back as he stared at the small crowd before him. "I'm n-not stupid!"

"No, you're not stupid." Ally smiled as she engulfed the boy into a safe hug, "I'm sor-sorry!" Grant chocked out, as he buried his face into the crook of her neck, "I-I'm s-sorry. I'm sor-ry. I-I'm s-so-so-sorry."

"Its okay, everything's fine now." Ally whispered as she gently rubbed his lower back, "Everything is okay."

A deafening bang then shot across the room and Ally's heart stopped when Grant fell slack against her body. Screams filled the room at the shot, as the Noyes scurried off to safety. Ally glanced up to see a satisfactory smirk spread across Neils face. "It's about time somebody got rid of that useless scum."

From that point on, everything seemed to move in slow motion.

"Grant?" Ally whispered as she stared down at the limp boy. A seeping warmness began to soak the fabric clenched in her fingers, and the cry of his name got stuck in her throat.

His body began to slide to the floor and she didn't have enough strength to hold him up, so she hit the ground with him. "Grant? Grant? G-," Ally stared down at the motionless body, and her yes quickly began to sting with tears. She grabbed his hand and felt for a pulse, her eyes widening when she felt a weak thump beat against her fingers.

Ally quickly took off her jacket and tied it around Grant's open wound as a pool of blood surrounded them both.

"Grant, come on. Grant, please, please wake up. Please, please, please, don't do this. Please just don't, Grant!"

She felt another body drop to his knees beside her and Ayden's frail arms reached upwards to shake his friend. His mouth opened and closed as he voiced silent pleads for Grant to wake up. Grants eyes slowly blinked open.

"I-I'm..."

"Grant! Grant just hold on, okay? I'm going to call for help!" Ally exclaimed as she fumbled around her pockets for her phone. "N-No," Grant whispered in a tone so soft she could barely hear it. He uncurled one of his tight fits, and held up his shaking hand to give Ally the small scrap of paper that he protected with his life.

Ally quickly took the scrap and flattened out the creases as she tried to dechiper what the toehr had given her. The paper was less than an inch in size, and had three letter printed across it. She chocked on her breath once she realized what the tiny piece of paper had oringinated from.

It was a corner of a map.

She focused her attention back on Grant when he uttered a few chocked gasps as he tried to get out his final words.

"I-I-I'm us-u-useful."

The corners of Grants lips twitched upwards into a small victorious smile before he finally allowed himself to release the small string of life he had been clinging onto.

_I'm sorry, it looks like I'm going to be the first to be free._

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><p><strong><em>Well, there you have it chapter 9. My heart broke into 2 while writing this, it's so hard, because you develop a bond with the characters and it just hurts. How do you guys feel. I updated today, because of the gloomy, and dark weather, and it just motivated me to write this chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed reading it.<em>**


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